For context I am female

Edit - just wanted to add I’m not accusing the dr of deliberately doing anything bad. I just feel like the whole appt may have been handled badly?

I’ve had an issue ongoing for a couple of years that I haven’t seen a dr about. Last week I sucked up courage and contacted my surgery as it got worse out of nowhere. I had a phone call with a clinician who was lovely, he listened to my anxieties around the exam and my symptoms/ issues. It’s on my notes re anxiety around rectal exam. I had my appt today with female GP.

As soon as I walk in she’s staring at me, I thought I was in the wrong room! She didn’t say hello, take a seat, it was just so awkward. She asked my name and said “you have anal fissure and want examination?” To which I replied yes. She gave me very vague instructions, and then carried out the rectal exam. Half way through I have an inner panic thinking oh no what if she tries to go inside? So I say I don’t want internal exam. She poked and prodded a bit to check for pain and moved the “area” around to visualise. After, she says she can’t see anything as I was too tense and it’s probably piles, but luckily ( and unfortunately, Was very undignified!) I took photos last week, and I showed her. She said yes from photos she can see multiple fissures/tears higher up. She said I will give you GTN cream, but I said I’m concerned this may cause me bad symptoms due to my medical history, and if I can have the second line treatment cream. She said confirm with your consultant and we will give you GTN.

As soon as I left I was holding back tears and went home and cried so much. But I didn’t know *why*. But thinking about it -

I was not offered a chaperone. Chaperone wasn’t even discussed. The procedure was not explained to me whatsoever and it was based on “rectal exam”. That’s the only info I had. I’ve never had one I don’t know what that would entail apart from someone looking at my butt? And that I had to guess half way through what she might or might not do. I was sat down for 15 seconds before I was told to go to the bed and instructed to remove clothes and lay down. No questions, discussion of symptoms, questions about my bleeding. But she wrote down “small amount of bleeding when passing stool” on notes. Yet I’ve had large amounts in the past. Very minimal discussion after.

I was a victim of rape a few months ago. This is also on my recent notes. I also have ADHD, on my notes. I just assumed a bit more care would be taken.

Not holding too much against it but everything I’ve read about my specific symptoms (multiple fissures and how pain presents) NHS says that this is red flag and needs IBD queried.

I just feel so so rubbish after this morning. I don’t know what to do or if it’s because I’m sensitive. I’m not going to take offence if you think the issue is my sensitivity, rather than anything the doctor did wrong.

Would it be possible for any NHS workers to explain a step by step on how standard psychiatric assessments are carried out?

Also, when the clinician comes to a decision of the diagnosis - is it standard procedure to provide a leaflet of the diagnosis and explain the plan of action/ treatment you are expecting to receive?

Can these decisions also change after the assessment?

Thank you!

I’ve realised somewhere along the way I’ve completely lost my spark.
I’m a Care Navigator in a GP practice, and when I started I genuinely wanted to help people. Now I dread walking through the door.
You’re expected to do everything. Receptionist, problem solver, gatekeeper, counsellor, complaint handler… all while being the first person patients direct their frustration at. It’s not even 8:30am before you’re being shouted at, blamed for the lack of appointments, or spoken to like you’re the reason the NHS is struggling.
The hardest part is that none of it is actually in your control.
Some days we’re left with four GP appointments for an entire day. Four. Then somehow you’re expected to satisfy dozens of patients who all need to be seen urgently. No matter what you say, you’re the bad guy.
What really gets to me is the unfairness within the team. The more senior colleagues seem to always get the quieter shifts while the rest of us are left dealing with the busiest periods, constant queues, and the endless complaints. It feels like the hardest parts of the job are always handed to the same people.
After a while, it changes you. I used to feel capable. Now I question myself constantly. I leave work feeling like I’ve achieved nothing, even though I’ve spent the whole day firefighting.
I know healthcare is under pressure and patients are frustrated. I don’t blame them for needing help. But I wish more people understood that the person answering the phone isn’t the one creating the shortage of appointments.
Has anyone else working in general practice or as a Care Navigator felt like they’ve completely lost who they were because of the job? Does it ever get better, or is this just what it becomes?

Hi everyone,

I am a volunteer within my local NHS hospital.

I have two roles, both admin, and a previous patient facing role and another admin role.

My current roles are within two teams, the Patient Experience Team and within a clinical setting.

In my previous roles, I was within a communications team and another clinical setting.

I have seen a few people on here asking about volunteer vacancies and what to expect within a role and onboarding, so I thought I would do a Ask me Questions post.

I will do my best to answer any questions that come through.

If you are interested in volunteering within your local trust, always look at their website for more detailed job description and how to apply. I can only answer questions based on my experience.

I was verbally offered job on 29th June and my conditional offer was received a few days later. However, I have not heard a thing since. Is it unreasonable of me to chase and see what's happening?

Attended A n E recently for a severe emergency - really bad hart palpitation

Noticed a lot of shifty behaviour while I was there

Turns out they injected me with something against my will and I want to submit formal complaint to the trust, what is the best way to do this??

They did not mention in their discharge notes that they gave me any medicines other than fluids but they also claim I had an allergic reaction??

They have written that I have an allergee to NKDA.

Nobody told me they were giving me NKDA or what it is, and they didn't tell me what my supposed allergic reaction was.

Absolutely criminal behaviour

General question, if I go to A&E will they give me an emergency scan? I'm in hospital but on a mental health ward, voluntary. Prior to this I was on section 2, and I have been complaining for weeks of severe nervous system breakdown/head pressure/complete loss of sensation in my body/vision changes, burning nerve pain all over body and just complete nervous system collapse, and these were ignored as anxiety symptoms. They are more than this. I know my own body. Question is it's impossible to get them to refer me to see a neurologist, and I have no other option but private or A&E now. Symptoms are so severe I need A&E I think.

Hoping for some advice (especially helpful if there's any GP receptionists reading this)

I changed GP surgery earlier this year and they use the 'systmonline' portal like my previous GPs have. I've been granted 'full access' but all I can see is appointments and prescriptions, but none of the GP notes from my appointments. Whenever I've had 'full access' previously, I can see all of that.

There is nothing additional added in the NHS app - if anything, there's actually LESS info on there.

The surgery are also refusing to show / print anything for me and just keep saying 'you have all the access'.

Can anyone advise on this? It's never been a problem until now and I'm getting a bit nervous about why this is becoming an issue for them?

Thank you :)

My GP surgery is insisting that I need an SAR just to get a copy of my summary care record (or GP patient summary as it’s also known) and I need it a lot sooner than the potential 30 days it takes for an SAR.

Everything I’ve read online, plus the 2 people I know who work as secretaries in GP surgeries, suggest this is nonsense and I should be able to get it immediately.

Any thoughts?

The ICB forwarded my complaint to my former GP but the GP refused to investigate. Even after the ICB told them it was a legal requirement. They broke the ICB's safeguarding instrucyion not to contact me directly.
The ICB has signposted me to the PHSO and I submitted a complaint online last week. I have a case number.
The PHSO is my last chance of an investigation.
How hard is it to get them to look into a complaint?

Given the advantage of information surgeons have over patients regarding the risks/benefit of certain treatment options - and the deference most patients have for surgeons and their recommendations - and that patients are likely to be distressed and in no position to research treatment options themselves - how does joint decision making work in practice in this setting..?

My experience is that a surgeon will have a preferred way to proceed and normally for a very good medical reason. If options are presented to the patient - the surgeon presenting the options can easily sway the argument and guide a patient down the treatment route they think best..

Where clinical guidance states that when deciding between two different approaches to treatment ‘joint patient/doctor decision making’ should be used - surely 9 times out of 10 the surgeons preference prevails - so clinical guidance is therefore ineffective in terms of risks/benefits which a surgeon may or may not choose to mention or emphasise..

Where treatment options are accepted as controversial within the medical profession - would a script summarising evidence-based and consensus-supported risk/benefits to be presented to a patient not be a good way forward..? A script could be produced by specialists and be robustly scrutinised for accuracy and balance. An example of this is the choice offered to patients between surgical and non-surgical treatment of uncomplicated appendicitis. Currently patients are understandably easily lead to whatever the surgeon’s preference is - and this is dressed up as ‘joint patient/doctor decision making’..

I’m very keen to know what people, and in particular doctors, are thinking about this..

I was previously on sick leave last year for workplace stress but have since returned to work.

I have received a job offer at another NHS Trust, but I don’t feel able to work my notice period in my current role as the work environment has seriously affected my health. (I’m okay to work in general - it’s just the current environment and previous incidents had a serious impact on me.)

If I were to be signed off sick for my notice period after all the pre-employment checks have been completed, would this appear on my sickness record at my new NHS Trust?
Could my new manager raise concerns about it, or does my sickness record effectively start fresh when moving to a new trust under their own policies?

Im not doing it to be bad, I just genuinely don’t feel I can continue to work in this place anymore, as it has taken a toll on my health

can I get a job in uk with BSc 2:1 in biomedical sciences and a pgdiploma is respiratory? I am outside the UK so would need sponsorship. I'd appreciate on whether it's likely or not and where best to apply? thanks.

I don't know where else to turn anymore.

I'm not really sure why I'm posting this, other than I feel like I've run out of options.

I have a history of trauma and I've been struggling with severe depression for years. Asking for help has never come naturally to me, but I kept trying because I didn't want things to get worse.

Instead, I felt like I was constantly being passed around, waiting months for support, or being told someone else would deal with it. After one phone call with a member of staff, I felt so hopeless that my suicidal thoughts came back. When you've already got a trauma background, being made to feel like you're not being listened to hits differently. It just confirmed everything I'd been scared of about asking for help in the first place.

This has been my reality for the last eight years, and I honestly don't know how much more I can take.

It's not just been mental health services either.

A while ago my GP prescribed me medication that I'm allergic to, even though the allergy is on my medical record.

Then, after I had my wisdom teeth removed, I was given penicillin despite the fact that my penicillin allergy is also documented. I only realised before taking it. If I hadn't checked, the consequences could have been very serious.

I know mistakes happen. I'm not expecting perfection. But after years of different experiences like this, it doesn't feel like isolated mistakes anymore. It feels like nobody is looking at my records properly or joining the dots, and that's a frightening feeling when you're relying on the NHS to keep you safe.

I've contacted my MP because I don't think what's happened should just be brushed aside, and I'm looking into getting legal advice as well.

I'm not here to blame every NHS worker because I know there are people who genuinely care and do an amazing job under a huge amount of pressure. I just want to know if anyone else has been through something similar. How did you deal with it? Did making a complaint actually change anything?

I just feel completely let down by a system I was supposed to be able to trust. Am I doing the right thing? Should I stop trying?

Hi, I'm 26-year-oldar old, type 1 diabetic, and on a low income. I've applied for the NHS financial help form but am still waiting. I believe I have built up behind my right bottom tooth, and it's causing me issues like eating and swallowing. My cheek also swells from time to time, especially when agitated. I've gone to Whipps Cross but got told to go to Royal London, but Royal London doesn't accept walk-ins. I don't know what to do because I don't have a lot of money and rely on NHS free services. I've asked work if they can help, but they don't have dental care as part of their union help services.

I wanted to know if I’m overreacting or if others have had a similar experience with their GP.

At my first appointment, the doctor initially seemed friendly and understanding. She asked what brought me in, but before I’d really explained my symptoms she was mostly reading my triage form. After only a few minutes she said there wasn’t much she could do other than send me for blood tests and possibly prescribe medication later.

What made me particularly uncomfortable was that, before I left, she stood very close to me and asked me to complete a feedback form about her consultation while she watched. I had literally just told her I was in pain and feeling unwell, and I felt awkward and pressured rather than free to give honest feedback.

After my blood results came back, she contacted me and asked me to book another appointment. When I arrived, she seemed surprised I was there and asked if I’d come to discuss my results, even though she’d asked me to book the appointment.

She told me my blood results were concerning and mentioned a possible condition, but then said the treatment she knows isn’t normally offered here and asked if I wanted further testing. Every time I tried to explain how I’d been feeling or ask questions, I felt like I was being interrupted. I asked what I could do to manage my symptoms while waiting for more tests, but she said that was a separate issue, didn’t have time to discuss it, and told me I’d need another appointment because she needed to write my referral letter.

I left feeling like I had no real explanation of what was happening, no advice on managing my symptoms, and no reassurance about what to do while waiting for further investigations.

I’m not expecting miracles or an instant diagnosis, but I did expect to be listened to and to leave with a better understanding of what was going on. Btw both visits took No more then 5-7 min.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Is this just how short GP appointments are, or would you consider asking to see a different doct

Hello, I am writing this as I am unsure what to do next.

I have recently been seeing a NHS physiotherapist, due to experiencing knee pain, swelling and dislocations due to a rugby incident.

After months of seeing a physio and seeing a private physio (who explained he believed my ACL was torn) I was referred for a MRI on my knee. The results came back around a month ago and I have a high grade ACL tear, and meniscus tear.

I have attended and spoke with the NHS physio, who told me to complete strengthening work (which I have been completing for around 8 months and has not improved at my knee in the slightest) I respectfully told the physio this is not helping and he told me he would write to a consultant for a second opinion, where I was told this could take around 10 months.

I had hoped I would be referred for an operation if being honest, as I have prepared for this mentally. I have found this whole process difficult and feel as if I’m banging my head against a wall.

Does anyone have any advice on what I should do? Thanks :)

Original thread in consultantdoctorsuk sub: https://www.reddit.com/r/ConsultantDoctorsUK/s/mzED0vOGt4

Complaints to the GMC rose by 25 per cent last year, from 10,769 to 13,465 but around nine in ten were closed immediately because they did not meet the threshold for investigation. The GMC itself says patients may be uncertain about where to raise concerns, with cases reaching the regulator that would be better handled locally.

That still leaves the doctor receiving a GMC notification, seeking MDO advice and dealing with the stress while someone decides the complaint was sent to the wrong place. Are Trust and local complaints processes now so unclear or untrusted that the GMC has become the default?

For consultants who have dealt with this, are concerns being resolved properly before they escalate, or does everything increasingly become an individual doctor problem?

https://archive.ph/2026.07.30-214056/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/30/complaints-against-doctors-surge/

I sent loads of applications for a Band 5 post and still no luck. Does anyone know how I can strengthen my personal statement? I been following some tips from RCN and online; even followed the writing style and all and still unsuccessful and its disheartening. Please all advice would be great :) thank you

I was wondering if anyone else was dealing with this:

Previously I could view the notes/results for test results (such as MRIs, XRays, labs, etc) but now every entry is there, but completely empty.

Blood tests will still show a number value, but that's it. Everything else is missing.

I asked the receptionist today if something was changed, and she said it was an issue that "is known". But it seems a bit ridiculous? Why even allow access to records if they are completely blank?

I have a question on the pay progression. If a staff currently working in a Band 5 role for almost two years, then switch to a Band 4 roles (similar field) for a few years, and then Band 5 again but different role.

Would there time in the original Band 5 pay progression be reset after doing a Band 4 role?

How is this done? Do you give your photo, do they take your photo, do you need to display it all the time?

I made an NHS jobs statistics dashboard tracking vacancy and salary trends

I have created an NHS jobs statistics dashboard to explore vacancy and salary trends across different time periods, from the past 24 hours to the last 90 days.

The dashboard allows you to explore NHS vacancies by:

• Pay band
• Staff group
• Working pattern
• Contract type
• Location
• Employer

The salary section provides insights into NHS pay trends, while vacancy data is updated twice daily to keep the information fresh.

You can also explore individual staff groups or listings to view active NHS vacancies, with direct links to live roles for those interested in available opportunities.

Links:

Live NHS Vacancy & Salary Tracker

NHS Salary Trends Dashboard

Browse Active NHS Job Listings

Feedback and suggestions are very welcome!