Anxious that new GP I'm seeing tomorrow will be rude to me

[Hanna3]

Hi all,

I am seeing a new woman GP tomorrow. I moved to this town about three months ago and had a woman GP recommended to me. She was dreadfully rude, halved my anti-anxiety and sleeping medications at the first visit (when I was going through a lot of stress having moved to a new town) despite my having a letter from a specialist and my previous GP that they were happy with me on the dose I was on.

I asked for help with a toenail that is digging into my toe, I got a free visit to a podiatrist in the town where I lived before (pensioners get five free visits to allied health professionals in a calendar year) but because he was only getting the Medicare rebate for seeing me (yes I get that it's low but I worked and paid taxes for years so people in my position could have access to affordable health care) - anyway because of that he refused to clip the nail. So it's getting worse and painful. I told her and she said why should a podiatrist treat me when they only get $35 for seeing me. So that was that and I still have the problem.

I went back with breathing problems from the smoke here (we are very near major fires, air pollution is a real problem and I am asthmatic) and I was also suffering from heat exhaustion. I told her I was in a fibro house with no air conditioning and she replied I should not have air conditioning because it would increase my carbon footprint. We have hit mid to high 40s for months here. She is a GP married to a physician and I am sure she lives in a very comfortable home.

So then I heard from other people that she is nice to some patients and other people have found her so rude they have left to another practice or refuse to see her. So it's not just me.

I asked the reception staff who was nice and they recommended another GP at the same practice. I asked how to pronounce her surname and the staff said just to call her Dr Jane (I'm not using her real name). When she called me in and I called her Dr Jane she blasted me for not calling her Dr Surname (not first name).

I've had another woman doctor at the same practice recommended but I am frightened she will also be rude/nasty to me. I've never had such a problem before. How do I cope if she is, and how do I explain why I won't ever go back to the other woman doctor? This is for an authority script where the GP has to phone up to get the OK to give it to me. Am feeling really anxious another doctor is going to be rude to me. Any advice please?

[Hanna3]

Thanks Elizabeth no I don't go back to poor doctors either. That's why I am trying yet another one (three in as many months!) When I had the knee MRI result ages ago, I took great pleasure in sending a copy of it to the specialist who said I needed a psychologist and wrote him a letter stating that needless to say, I was seeing an orthopaedic surgeon, not a psychologist". I didn't do that to be vindictive but rather in the hope he might not assume some other poor patient had MH problems when they had torn knee cartilage.

The GP practice already has a very succinct summary of my conditions from my previous GP who was excellent. I'm hoping I'll be third time lucky with this next doctor but who knows. Thanks for your good wishes!