Patients rely on their GP, if your doctor doesn’t care, or seems like they don’t care it can be distressing. Showing care and concern is a key skill that a GP needs. When we go to the doctor it is because we are worried about a symptom or illness and we need their help. This can be a worrying time and we may feel desperate. Patients want their doctor to listen to their symptoms, understand their concerns and believe them about their illness. If a GP doesn’t do this it may feel like the doctor doesn’t care.
An uncaring doctor can make patients nervous during appointments, feel like an inconvenience to the DR or in the worst cases put them off going to the doctor at all. This is not a healthy situation, but there are solutions.
What Can I do if My Doctor Doesn’t Care
As a patient in England you do not have to suffer a doctor that doesn’t care. There are a number of options open to you including discussing the situation with your current GP. Moving GP Practices to try and find a better, more caring practitioner, or making appointments with a new GP in your current practice. All of these options should be considered, further detail is described below.
Can I move GP Practice if my Doctor Doesn’t Seem to Care?
As a patient in England you should be happy with the treatment you receive. You have the right to leave one practice and move to another surgery if you like. No reason needs to be provided for wanting to leave a practice and you don’t need to tell your new surgery why you want to join them. Simply find a new practice and ask if the will register you as a new patient. The BestDoctorNearMe.co.uk how to change GP page provides more detail on how to do this.
How Can I Find a Doctor that Cares
The NHS in England survey patients twice a year in the GP Patient survey. This nationwide survey asks a range of questions resulting in GP Practices being rated and ranked. One area Medical Practices are rated on is the level of Care and Concern shown to patients. Not all doctors have the same skill sets and some practice include GPs that show more care and concern.
Not many people in England are aware that their GP and others are rated for their care and concern. This rating is provided by the people who best positioned to judge doctors – their patients and the Department for Health. The BestDoctorsNearMe.co.uk website published the NHS information that ranks the care and concern showed to patients. This information can be used to help make sure you find a doctor that does care and is concerned about you and your health. The description below explains how to use this information to try and find another practice that may have more caring staff.
To Find a Doctor That Cares Near You
- Go to the BestDoctorsNearMe.co.uk GP Ratings page
- Enter your town or post code into the box and search
How to find a doctor that cares
- This page include information on a range of topics.
- Choose ‘Patient Experience’ in the ‘Topics’ dropdown box and click ‘update results’
- One of the results is called ‘Treated with Care and Concern by the GP’
The information within the ‘Treated with Care and Concern by the GP’ column shows patients results from the GP Survey and how many patients responded positively to this question.
GP Practices that have a tick next to them are rated as amongst the best at showing the most care and concern for their patients.
Surgeries and practices that show an exclamation mark have been ranked as the least caring and compassionate surgeries by patients.
Health Centres that have an ‘ok’ next to them are ranked in the middle range. They are not the most caring, or not the least caring.
To further try and show the least caring and most caring GP Practices a percentage score is provided. The most caring doctors are shown with a score nearer 100, the lower the score the less caring doctors are.
To compare how caring doctors are near you follow the instructions listed above and compare the percentages for each GP Practice and look for the better rated, more concerned doctors, shown with a tick. In this way you can review information for all GP Practices and doctors in the area you are interested in. This information can help identify if there are other surgeries that may be better suited to your needs. The information is updated twice a year, meaning the comparisons displayed are up-to-date for 2017.
What Other Options do I have if my Doctor Doesn’t Care about me
If your doctor doesn’t seem concerned about you or care about your problems than you can change to a different GP in your current practice. This option means you don’t need to register with a new surgery, but instead simply ask to see a different GP the next time you make an appointment. You should not have to provide a reason for asking to see a different GP.
If for some reason you are unable to move practice or see another GP in your current surgery it may be worth considering discussing the situation with the GP that seems not to care. This conversation may be difficult for both the patient and doctor and it could result in a positive or negative outcome. It is an option to consider if moving surgery or practitioner is not an option.
Summary: My Doctor Doesn’t Care What Can I do?
Having a doctor that doesn’t care, or show compassion can be terrible. An uncaring GP may seem like they don’t believe you, or not be interested in your illnesses. The NHS in England collect information showing how well patients think their doctor cares for them. This information is easy to understand and can help find a caring doctor in your town. As a patient in England you do not have to stay with the same doctor, or the same GP Practice. The ability to move practice is very positive. If your doctor doesn’t care for your health then it is important to try and find a GP that does.