Right... first things first.
I think that what he is probably checking for is things like Glandular fever and other infections that can cause neck ache {especially if she has any form of tattoos and piercing he may be looking for blood borne infections such as septicemia}
Gps and other drs tend to be vauge because if you state it you can be held to it, others worry that if they tell people they are looking for infections that the dr is making a judgement about their lifestyle {which is probably exactly what he is doing}
The long and the short of it is not telling her is extremly bad practice!! He should have given her at least an idea of what he was looking for before he asked her consent to take blood samples.
I think this is a consumer issue and certainly that is what we are taught in the NHS {hence why people are reffered to as service users not patients}
Your rights as I understand them are
1. To have full disclosure from your GP unless it will place a vulnerable adult or child in harms way. This is why even when people are extremley mentally unwell to the extent where we can give them medication against their will we still have to give them the option of accepting meds first, we have to tell them what they are being given, how much , why and what the side effects are.
The same goes for any tests, you should be told what is being taken , what tests are being done and why in a way that you can understand.
2. You are entitled to change your GP or request a second opinion at any given time. If you're staying within the practice just make an appointment with the GP you want to go to and ask . They may ask you for a reason and I would always just say you don't feel you have a comfortable theraputic relationship with your current doc.} If it's another GPs just arrange it with the receptionist, they have an offical form for you to fill in that just says you wish to register with a new GP.
3.If you are unhappy with your GP to the degree of wanting to make a complaint, go to your local primary care trust first {head office, they will walk you through the process}
you then keep going up the chain depending on how far you want to go. The ultimate destination is the GMC/ the police.
If things aren't right I would complain. Often people don't because they feel they are somehow getting the GP into trouble. You aren't , you are improving everyone elses care! Gps are human and they do make mistakes but just like everyone else they need to take responsibility for their mistakes especially seeing as how it's often got more serious consequences than just putting a few too many sprinkles on the next batch in the donut factory.
Best of luck Glasgowgirl and if you need any info explaining or tracking down, feel free to PM me.
