GP Receptionists

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By Gul

I’m so angry with my GP surgery. Earlier today I had a missed call, so I called the surgery back, and I told the receptionist that I was recording the call. For my own records, and that I could legally record the call. So, of course, she quickly put me on hold. She then asked why I was recording, and I said again it was my legal right, and I told her about the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) (2000).

She put me on hold again, and said her manager has said she can’t be recorded without her consent. So, I asked which law her manager was quoting, and she said she was not going to quote the law, and disconnected the call. As there isn’t a law which states this.

Laws!

I contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), and was told that as a private individual the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) (2016), and the Data Protection Act (DPA) (2018) do not apply. So I don’t need consent to record calls; I don’t have to store the recording securely; and I don’t even have to tell the surgery that I’m recording the call.

I also checked my electronic GP records, and saw that my access to notes and letters has been removed. I can now only see coded entries. It took over two months to get access to my records, despite the surgery having a one-month time limit to respond to my Subject Access Request (SAR). And I was only given access when I complained to NHS England. I was not told that my notes would be restricted, and the ICO couldn’t find a law which would allow this.

Crisis team

I also asked the surgery to put a note on my records, stating that I did not consent for information to be shared with a mental health crisis team. This because my relative contacted the crisis team last month. But I refused to engage with them, due to the emotional distress that their staff caused me in September.

So, my relative arranged a Mental Health Act (MHA) Assessment. Thankfully, I can’t be detained under this Act. An Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) then contacted my GP. She told him that in any instance of deterioration in my mental health that the crisis team are to be called.

So, I contacted the surgery and asked a note to be added, stating that I did not consent for information to be shared with the crisis team; and the receptionist said she would do so. But she didn’t, and I asked for this to be added again. The surgery then called me to state that the manager had added the note. But she hadn’t, and now I’m unable to view my records, so it’s easier for them to lie.

I also spoke to NHS England, and the ICO who informed me that my objection should have been noted. Rethink Mental Illness also told me that I had the right not to engage with the crisis team.

I’m afraid to go to my GP

The surgery’s actions are causing me unnecessary anxiety. I had planned on speaking to my GP about anxiety and stress, and a possible referral for a trauma focused therapy. I’m now very apprehensive about this, in case my GP contacts the crisis team. This team cannot help me with anxiety and PTSD, as they have caused me psychiatric injury. I’m also in the process of referring my complaint, about the crisis team, to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO).

Whenever I think about the crisis team, who lied to me; falsified my patient records; laughed at me; made suicide jokes; and made me feel like nothing, I get palpitations and have to hold back the urge to scream.

So, I’m now afraid to go to my GP, in case the crisis team are contacted. I know that I could object to this if it’s suggested by my GP. But, I would rather it be noted on my records, before I even see my GP. All of this could have been avoided, if the GP receptionists, and practice manager had simply done their jobs.

Reproduced with permission, originally posted on mhtalk.blogspot.com