"Incorrect diagnosis"

Dear Mrs MB

Thank you for sharing your recent experience at your GP Practice. I’m sorry the diagnosis and treatment you received didn’t feel right for you. Scabies can be tricky to diagnose, and I suspect, with it being highly contagious, the GP was erring on the side of caution. (I know this from a similar experience in my own house recently). It's good to hear that on both occasions the symptoms went away of their own accord.

In line with the pillars of realistic medicine clinicians should be taking a shared decision-making approach, with you as the patient being encouraged to take part in the conversations around diagnosis and treatment in order to come to a mutually agreeable outcome. If you are unsure about any diagnosis or treatment it’s ok to ask questions around the benefits, risks, alternatives and what will happen if no action is taken. You can find information and advice around this approach at the link here. It doesn’t sound like this happened with you and I’m sorry it left you feeling concerned about trusting your GP.

The majority of GP Practices in Grampian are independent contractors, each with their own system for managing complaints and feedback. They don't have access to the Care Opinion system and won't see this without it going directly to them.

For your specific feedback to be addressed and looked into, you will need to call or write to the practice manager at the practice. If you would like independent advice or support on providing feedback to a practice there is the option to contact the Patient advice and Support Service by calling 0800 917 2127 or by visiting their website: https://pass-scotland.org.uk.

When contacting the practice directly, you will need to share your name and contact details, they won’t look into your feedback without this information unfortunately, and I know not everyone feels comfortable doing that. If you would like, I can share your feedback with them anonymously but you will need to contact me directly with the name of the practice (any contact information shared with me won't be shared any further).

My contact details are kirsten.dickson@nhs.scot or telephone / text: 07885720267

Take care,

Kirsten

Hi Mrs MB,

Thank you for sharing the practice name with me by email. I can confirm that your feedback is now with the practice and they have replied to let me know it has been shared with the practice partners (your contact details were not shared). They have also kept the Care Opinion story in the complaints file and would be happy to discuss further if you would like to get in touch at any point.

Take care,

Kirsten