A colleague has been treated very poorly over recent weeks by both her local hospital and her GP, how can she best go about fixing.

She has a broken foot and has had no painkillers, no cast, no after care ( two 5 minute appointments to say carry on as is), no physio booked just a boot and that’s it. It’s been 11 weeks and she is only now just about able to put slight pressure on it, no-one seems to give a toss.

What can she do?

Write a formal letter of complaint to the Practice Manager and if you have no joy then the CCG. They may not want to know then it’s NHS England.

As regards the hospital I assume you complain to NHS England:

http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/complaints/Pages/NHScomplaints.aspx

There is a formal complaints procedure. Guidance on the web (different agencies in Scotland and England/Wales).

However, in the first instance, your colleague should be pushing to be treated – return to the GP and/or hospital to explain her issue and unease with the treatment so far. Focus on this and make any formal complaint later.

As regards the hospital I assume you complain to NHS England:

http://www.nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Rightsandpledges/complaints/Pages/NHScomplaints.aspx

Usual first point of call is the hospital trust’s own Patient Advocacy and Liaison Service, who may be able to resolve matters more quickly.

Usual first point of call is the hospital trust’s own Patient Advocacy and Liaison Service, who may be able to resolve matters more quickly.

This. Sounds like the hospital is the main cause for complaint rather than the GP. Most of these things are due to poor communication though – perhaps a boot is better than a cast for her type of fracture, and physio has no benefit vs rest? I don’t know, but it’s worth speaking to the hospital.

Having just started walking again after breaking my own foot (calcaneus) and being treated by the NHS…

It may well be the case that the treatment provided has been as good as it can be, and that what is lacking is the fluffy stuff. All the appointments I had were in overcrowded clinics where the doctor was hugely overstretched. After feeling a bit fobbed off with each appointment to begin with, I found that by writing down a few questions and concerns I had, and specifically asking the doctor to go through them with me, I came away feeling a lot happier.

For a broken foot, the best thing to do is generally just to rest it until the bones are healed, which can take a long time and is pretty frustrating. I was also given a boot rather than a cast – this is becoming common practice since it means that you can take it off to scratch and wash, and is generally considered much better than a cast (I thought so!).

Complain if you like, but from my experience I would suggest a simple plea for a bit of a reassuring chat first. I agree that the reassuring chat should be part of giving proper care, but NHS clinics are so overstretched that this often gets missed out just so that everybody can be seen eventually. Doctors are overworked and are prioritising the important treatment rather than making each person feel happy and loved. Not ideal but best that can be done with limited resources.