Summary
Mrs C complained about the treatment she had received from her GP when she reported a lump in her breast. Mrs C attended the medical practice twice before being referred to the breast clinic where she was later diagnosed with breast cancer.
Mrs C said that she should have been referred to the breast clinic sooner and was concerned about the GP's attitude. Mrs C also said that when she was referred, the referral should have been classed as urgent rather than routine.
During our investigation we asked for independent advice from one of our GP advisers. Our adviser found that the GP had conducted a thorough examination of Mrs C and gave her appropriate advice regarding monitoring the lump. The adviser said that it was hard to judge the attitude of the GP through the medical notes, however, based on the record of Mrs C's condition at the time of the referral, and relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance, a routine referral was appropriate. We did not uphold Mrs C's complaints.
Related reading
View Decision Report 201404053 as a PDF (11.09 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018