When private doctors fail: Seven signs it’s time for a change

Some people choose to rely on private health care. They tend to think of doctors as perfect beings who hold all the answers to their health-related questions and are not allowed to make even the slightest mistake. This attitude is somewhat normal, since we put our wellbeing in their hands, and we often reach out to them when we’re at our most vulnerable. Doctors can have a direct impact on quality of life, and for many they’re bonafide superheroes. 

However, one has to accept and be aware of the fact that doctors are also human, which means they are fallible. Some may have excellent technical skills and expertise, but they can lack bedside manners, while others can have great people skills but they may fall short when it comes to professional knowledge. The truth is doctors can make mistakes just like everybody else, and while some errors and slip-ups can be overlooked, there are certain thresholds that cannot or should not be crossed.  

This makes a lot of people wonder where they should draw the line when a private doctor doesn’t satisfy their needs and expectations. Holding medical professionals to a high standard is important for ensuring a proper healthcare experience. So, here are the main red flags.

They don’t listen

A private doctor is more than a medical professional who can tell what’s wrong, give a treatment and send the patient on their way. While these actions sum up most doctor visits, there’s a lot more that goes on in a surgery office. A doctor should become a trusted partner who can be relied on during a healthcare journey. 

This means that ideally doctors and patients should develop a solid relationship based on honesty, mutual trust and open communication. But that can hardly happen if the communication is one-sided. So, if a doctor doesn’t seem to listen to their patient’s concerns, is constantly cutting them off when they’re talking, or has a patronising tone, the patient might want to rethink their healthcare options.  

They don’t answer questions 

There are other doctors who do take the time to listen to concerns and seem genuinely interested in what their patients have to say, but they’re not great at answering questions or offering explanations. They tend to think that their knowledge and skills should be enough to earn trust, so they don’t bother explaining anything to their patients.  

Remember, a doctor is there to provide the answers and information needed for patients to make the best decisions for themselves. A doctor who thinks their patient should trust them blindly, without asking any questions, and who brushes off queries like they don’t matter is not the kind of doctor anyone wants to take care of them.

They cross the line 

At the other end of the spectrum there are doctors who not only answer all the questions asked, but also answer questions that weren’t asked, giving unsolicited advice and crossing boundaries constantly. 

While some of them might be well-intentioned, it’s not a doctor’s place to give advice about personal life or things that are not directly related to one’s health. It’s best to choose a doctor who understands it’s not acceptable to pass judgment on personal choices and respects the boundaries.  

They’ve misdiagnosed 

The purpose of seeing a doctor is to get the support and care required to improve one’s health or treat a certain medical condition. However, occasionally, even a doctor, despite their training and qualifications, can make a mistake when treating their patients, which can result in complications and further health issues.

As experts at Medical Negligence Assist explain, if a doctor has failed to recognise the symptoms of an ailment or has misdiagnosed it, there may be grounds to make a compensation claim. Obviously, in this situation, one should also start searching for a new doctor for treatment. 

Unethical behaviour 

Some private doctors will recommend buying certain vitamins or dietary supplements that they believe will support your health, on top of the usual medicine or treatments they prescribe, which is not wrong or unethical. However, if it becomes clear that a doctor is being too pushy about these products and tries to force their patients into buying them, this is a red flag that shouldn’t be ignored. An even bigger red flag is when due research is done and patients realise there is no scientific evidence to back up the doctor’s claims about these products. It’s important to make sure any doctor focuses on practicing medicine, not on improving his salesperson skills.  

They don’t take individual financial circumstances into consideration 

Like it or not, private healthcare comes at a cost, and, unfortunately, not everyone can afford the same level of care or treatment (and, in fact, Britain’s pioneering National Health Service offers top-notch free healthcare). Private doctors are well aware of the financial discrepancies that prevent certain patients from accessing their treatment.

So, if a doctor knows about their patient’s financial situation, but doesn’t take it into consideration when recommending a certain course of treatment, it’s good time to look for a medical professional who does care about this aspect – or make use of the free health service some are sadly aiming to privatise. 

The editorial unit