"GP treated me apallingly"

My GP sent me for an HIV test without telling me, although both my GP and their partner both subsequently admitted it was not a test that it made any sense for me to have. I only found out I was about to be tested for HIV when the nurse was about to stick the needle in me and I asked what I was being tested for. I refused the test and asked for an explanation from my GP. They were not available immediately so I saw their partner who said they could not see any reason I would be sent for that test and they wondered if it was perhaps a mistake.

My GP then told me that they had thought I was worried and so thought running an HIV test was the correct way to address my concern rather than discussing it with me (mystifying as I had not been worried at all) and that I shouldn't be upset about being sent for an HIV test with no prior discussion because it was just a test like any other test and not a big deal. They told me if I was unhappy I must put my feedback in writing. I did this and was promptly told the relationship had broken down and the only way to address the issue further was through formal mediation. When I attended a formal mediation session my GP began the meeting from behind their computer, typing, seeming focused on that rather than facing me and I had to ask them to attend the meeting.

The whole situation took weeks and was incredibly stressful. I have a chronic health condition and relied on my GP to care for me appropriately and give me good advice. I switched doctors after the mediation meeting as I reached the conclusion I needed a GP who was more professional and caring.

The process of trying to give feedback and improve the relationship and being shunted into a futile and lengthy formal complaints procedure was utterly draining and it appalled me that my GP appeared to be unaccountable to anyone in any kind of authority and unlikely to be receiving any supervision or personal development.