"A sad and avoidable state of affairs."

I have experienced mental health challenges for well over a decade now. For over half of that, I have been taking Venlafaxine.

In February, I came to see my doctor for a medication review. I informed them that my general mood had lowered and I was finding things harder than ever. They suggested upping my daily medication dosage. I was apprehensive about this, as it felt like this course of action could continue forever. Reluctantly, I agreed to try the increased dosage. Roughly 4 weeks later, I had experienced no benefit, only negative physical side effects. Consequently, I submitted an Engage Consult asking to return to the dosage I was taking previously.

(I was originally taking 150mg daily. My doctor had recommend 75mg on top). I received a text message response to my Engage Consult a few days later to say this had been actioned.

When I then went to the chemist, to pick up (and pay) for my prescription, I discovered that my doctor had issued a prescription for 75mg, eg the additional amount, not what I was previously taking. I called the surgery immediately and spoke to the staff member on reception, they said they would speak to my doctor and get this resolved.

What followed was nearly 4 weeks of confusion and frustration, as my doctor and the surgery seemingly could not grasp what was being requested/what was required to resolve this.

I submitted two more Engage Consults on the issue, visited the surgery reception in person and visited the pharmacy 4 times. The pharmacy were really helpful and could see the error that had occurred, for some reason the surgery could not.

In the time while I was waiting for this to be resolved, I paid for 3 prescriptions. This was because I was having to take two of the 75mg tablets daily, therefore I was running out much quicker. It took a scheduled call from another doctor at the surgery to get this resolved. Their apology was minimal.

I cannot comprehend why it was so difficult to get this issue resolved and why it took so much effort and admin on my part. No patient should have to experience this, but especially not one facing mental health challenges, this exacerbated my stress and anxiety, as opposed to helping with it, as I would expect from a GP.

I really found myself questioning whether I wanted to remain a patient. Just to compound things, my doctor attempted to call, for a pre-scheduled medication review. The only thing I would have wanted could to discuss in that call, was this appalling experience.

This has largely been resolved by the call from the other doctor, the week before, therefore my doctor's call was now superfluous. To be completely honest, I don’t have a great deal of faith or enthusiasm around engaging with my doctor in future and would rather consult with a different staff member.

A sad and avoidable state of affairs.