"MRI A&E Go-to-Doc"

I attended this department with my son on Sun Jan 31st to see an out of hours GP.

I was made to stand for the whole consultation without the courtesy of a chair being offered.

When I told the doctor that I thought my son had Strep throat and rash, they immediately dismissed my comments, telling me that they were the doctor not me and they would make the diagnosis.

I told them I was also a qualified health professional but more importantly I was a mother.

Surprisingly the consultant then went on to tell me how many years they had trained for and all about their qualifications.

After this defensive tirade I kept my mouth shut and just stood there for the rest of the consultation.

They spent the next 15 minutes telling us why it was a virus.

I was relieved when the consultation was over.

Unfortunately by the next day my sons condition had deteriorated quite considerably and we managed to get an emergency appointment at our own GP practice.

My son was examined by 2 separate GP's at our practice who both confirmed he had a bacterial strep rash and strep throat infection which is infectious and can have serious complications.

They told me the treatment he had been given the day before was actually making his condition worse and advised me to stop it immediately.

They then administered the correct treatment for his condition.

Thankfully he is now improving.

I did not think such arrogant doctors who do not listen were still allowed to speak to patients in a dismissive and derogatory way.

It is even worse when having such a high opinion of themselves they cannot make a reliable diagnosis of a fairly obvious infectious illness.

As a qualified nurse, midwife and health visitor for 30 years I was shocked and realised how difficult it must be for members of the public to be heard and treated with respect.

This particular GP needs some retraining in his communication skills not to mention updating re common infectious illnesses and how to diagnose them correctly.

It is arrogant professionals like this that bring the whole NHS into disrepute.