"Let down by GP and Dermatology"

I have a serious skin condition that is potentially life threatening if not treated properly, and even if it doesn’t kill me it is presently causing me misery and affecting all parts of life.

In March my GP practice stopped my prescriptions for both azathioprine and prednisolone. I had approximately 5 days of pills remaining so should have been able to order both however neither were available to me. I therefore assumed that I was no longer supposed to take these medications. That is the level of trust I had in my GP practice. I now believe that they made an error and these should have been available to me, as there does not seem to have been any letter from Dermatology instructing them to do this. Stopping the medication overnight like that was incredibly unpleasant for me. I now believe it was actually very dangerous for the prednisolone to be stopped suddenly like that.

The GP practice is not prescribing me any topical treatments or dressings despite my request for them to do so and information being passed on by my previous GP practice on what prescriptions I require.

My skin is in a bad way and is causing me considerable distress. It is affecting my work and my personal life considerably.

The GP practice has refused me a face to face or video appointment, and at my last appointment with Dermatology it was agreed I would have my next appointment with them in three months; more than six months later I am still waiting.

My illness is having a considerable impact on both my physical and mental wellbeing. I am feeling abandoned by the NHS and that I am not getting appropriate treatment.

I want a treatment plan, a commitment to receiving prescriptions for appropriate medications, topical treatments and dressings, and regular appointments (video or face to face).

I was a great believer in the idea of the NHS and I have had excellent treatment from individual members of staff, but overall my experience over the past few years has been poor.

The Covid response cannot continue to be given as an excuse. Treatment for other conditions cannot fall by the wayside. Patients cannot be ignored and abandoned.

I was previously given an email address for Dermatology at ARI but it now turns out that it doesn’t actually work – not very helpful. The email address for the medical practice returns a standard email saying that it isn’t monitored regularly – again not very helpful. In this day and age it is not acceptable to not have an email address for correspondence.

I have always tried to be a good and understanding patient, but that hasn’t done me much good recently, so maybe now it is the time to be the ‘squeaky wheel’.

My feelings are pain, distrust, disappointment, anger, frustration, despair.