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Selected Investigations Completed April - September 1998 > Part I, Case no. E.42/97-98
Matters considered: GP's actions and manner during a consultation and the way in which he removed a patient from his list
Complaint against: A GP in the Ayrshire and Arran Health Board area
Summary of case
Shortly after a consultation with his GP on 21 January 1997, Mr A returned to the GP's surgery in the belief that the GP had forgotten to include an antibiotic on his prescription. The GP told Mr A that he did not need antibiotics and that he should go away and see another doctor. Mr A subsequently received a letter dated 22 January from the Health Board telling him he had been removed from the GP's list. Mr A complained that the GP's behaviour towards him on 21 January was rude and unprofessional and that the GP's decision to remove him from his list of patients was unreasonable.
Findings
From the evidence of both Mr A and the GP it was clear that the second meeting on 21 January became fraught and that each perceived the manner of the other to be inappropriate. However in the absence of any other evidence the Ombudsman was unable to make a finding on the complaint about the GP's behaviour. The GP said he felt that the doctor/patient relationship had broken down because Mr A would not accept his diagnosis and advice. While appreciating that the GP faced a difficult situation in the face of Mr A's insistence that he needed antibiotics, the Ombudsman found that the GP acted precipitately in removing Mr A from his list without further discussion or considering alternatives.
Remedy
The GP was not prepared to apologise for the shortcomings the Ombudsman identified.
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