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bfrd I am so sorry to hear that and did not realize that all referrals had to come from your GP. Please forgive me if this is an ignorant question, but are there any private doctors in the UK who operate outside of the NHS where a patient can self refer (or does this literally not exist?) I know it would be expensive but I was just wondering if it even existed? Also, is it possible to switch GP's in the UK or do patients not have this right? (I know there is a long thread re: this topic but I haven't read it!)
We used to have doctors in the UK who treated ME with experimental treatments both on the NHS and as private doctors. What has happened is that slowly over the years these doctors have either died, retired, been forced out of the NHS, been forced out of their private practise or similar.
The General Medical Council has been prosecuting doctors who use treatments or tests on PWME that they don't approve. They have lose their license or have restrictions placed on them. Some cave in and go quietly and some fight.
Dr Myhill was one of the doctors who fought the GMC. There was a protest in London by her supporters outside the GMC.
The private doctors who are left tend to keep a low profile for the reasons above.
Switching GPs is a tricky topic. Some areas of the UK don't even have a clinic that patients can register with. They maintain a specific area and if you live out of that area they won't take you. When all the clinics get "full" in one area the patients need to apply to their local health authority and then get allocated to one. When I moved home there was only 1 GP clinic in my area that would accept new patients. If I knew of a good GP I would fight to be taken on somewhere else but they are rare and I haven't had one since the 1980's. Some clinics have a range of GPs and locums with a high turnover. So if you have an awful GP you can wait until they are on holiday and see another one. A lucky dip.
It ranges from easy, to hard to impossible to change GP's for those reasons.
(p.s. the NHS GP system is changing in the UK but I've yet to see any of the advantages that we keep getting promised)