When Raising Concerns About Medical Care Goes Wrong: Dealing with an Angry Doctor

Yesterday afternoon I got a call from an angry doctor*. He immediately began a diatribe that lasted for minutes. I’ve never experienced that in my life. I still feel cold when I think back on this. When I’m angry with someone, I start asking questions. Sometimes that anger turns out to be unjustified. When someone is mad at me, I also start asking questions. The rant, however, left me so off-guard that I didn’t know how to respond. All I thought was: stay nice and don’t get angry back.

Why did this doctor have to take it out on me? Because, according to him, I stir up unrest at official bodies. As a result, they get a wrong picture of the medical care for Mrs B. As a result, the angry doctor feels hurt. Ironically, this doctor isn’t a bad doctor at all. On the contrary: we have never met in person, but everything shows that he is very driven. When I express my dissatisfaction with the care for Mrs B. I explicitly state that it is not about the actions of the doctor himself, but about his staff.

‘Doctors often think they know their patients well, but that is not always the case’

Every GP in the Netherlands has to deal with signals from concerned family members, friends or acquaintances about a patient from his or her practice. Doctors often think they know their patients well, but that is not always the case. Therefore, these signals should always be taken seriously. Sometimes such a signal came from a doctor. Then you have to be extra alert, because doctors are not so quick to call a colleague to point out a problem situation. Extra painful are signals that concern your actions as a doctor. But often those signals are justified.

I have only known Mrs B. for six months. Her past is a harrowing account and the situation she finds herself in is deeply sad. Mrs. B. has no family, friends or acquaintances to step into the breach for her. She entrusted all her worries to me. On my advice, she called the angry doctor’s office. An assistant or practice nurse advised her to buy painkillers and multivitamins at the drugstore. I thought that was a bit scanty and insisted on further research. It turned out that my concerns about her health were justified.

‘I thought that was a bit scant and insisted on further research’

I wrote a letter and got a call from the doctor who fulminated me yesterday. He would pay a little more attention to Mrs. B. It was indeed not optimal at his practice, but that would soon change. Indeed, Mrs. B received more attention, but after two months it slackened again. It wasn’t just about her health. The situation deteriorated to such an extent that I sounded the alarm at two authorities. I showed that the medical care was inadequate despite the efforts of the angry doctor.

It is almost inevitable that the relevant authorities have contacted the practice of the doctor in question. And although I have made it clear that this man himself did his best, the criticism must have gone down the wrong way with him. Coincidentally, Mrs. B. had made an appointment with this doctor yesterday afternoon. I had clarified her situation in a letter and given it to her. So when he called me and gave his name, I thought it was about this letter. Due to a misunderstanding, the appointment was not recorded.

What now? The most important thing is that Mrs B. receives the necessary care. In any case, the doctor’s anger at me should not affect her. I don’t want to make the angry doctor angrier. But I can’t just let a rant like the one that happened to me yesterday slip away. That’s why I wrote a letter to the angry doctor. I fully understand that he does not like the fact that in my two letters to authorities I also mentioned what I believe to be suboptimal medical care for Mrs B. But as long as this does not improve, no one will deprive me of the right to express my concerns about this. to make known.

* oFor reasons of privacy I have anonymized the situation