NHS doctor names 'three best' questions to ask GP if they ignore you
Dr Karan Rajan, also known as Dr Raj, has shared his top tips for advocating for your own health when you feel your symptoms are being ignored by medical professionals
Brits are being encouraged to grill their doctors with three pointed questions should they feel their health worries are getting brushed aside. An NHS medic has put forward some straightforward advice to help ensure patients' voices are properly acknowledged.
After a 2024 survey of nearly 2,000 people in the UK disclosed that two-fifths hadn't fully discussed their health concerns, there's been a call for individuals to be proactive. The findings showed more than half did manage to chat about "everything" or "most things" during their last GP appointment, but an alarming 40% only got around to "some things", "hardly anything", or "nothing at all".
TikTok sensation Dr Karan Rajan, known to his over five million followers simply as Dr Raj, insists it's crucial for patients to stand up for themselves if they believe their symptoms are being ignored.
On social media, he imparted this essential tip: "If you feel that your doctor ignores your concerns and undermines your symptoms, here is how to advocate for your health."
Dr Raj has urged the public to pose even the most uncomfortable queries, claiming: "Ask questions, even the awkward ones."
He laid out that while doctors are primed for critical thinking, routine can lead to auto-pilot responses, encouraging questions as a means to ensure deeper contemplation of patient issues.
Dr Raj laid out three crucial questions to put to your GP.
What else could this be?
Are there any tests we haven't done yet?
Can you explain why you think this is normal for me?
In addition to posing these questions, he suggested four other strategies to ensure your health concerns are addressed appropriately.
Maintain a symptom log
Dr Raj recommended keeping a detailed account of all symptoms experienced to share with your GP. "Keep a comprehensive record of your symptoms, noting when they occur, their severity, what alleviates or exacerbates them, and how they affect your daily life," he advised.
"Pro tip - use precise language, for instance, instead of saying 'I'm tired', say 'I feel as if I've been hit by a lorry at 2pm every afternoon and it's causing me to miss work deadlines."
Insist on referrals
If you feel your concerns aren't being addressed, you should request a referral to a specialist. Dr Raj suggested: "If your doctor is puzzled or worse, dismissive, ask for a referral to a specialist.
"Specialists possess more in-depth knowledge in specific areas. For example, persistent muscle pain could be indicative of fibromyalgia.
"That severe menstrual cramp could be endometriosis. Pro tip - frame it as curiosity, not confrontation. For instance, 'I would feel more at ease ruling out X. Can we investigate this with a specialist?'".
Bring support
He also advised bringing a trusted friend or family member to your appointments if you feel your concerns aren't being heard. "Having a reliable friend or family member present at your appointment can make a significant difference," said Dr Raj.
"They can take notes as follow-up questions and back you up if you feel dismissed."
Know your rights
Dr Raj also emphasised the importance of getting a second opinion or contacting patient advocacy groups when needed. He stated, "In most countries you're entitled to a second opinion and access to your medical records, use these rights liberally."
Furthermore, he offered an extra piece of advice: "Pro tip - if you're dealing with a complex or chronic condition, consider consulting patient advocacy groups or online communities for advice."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Now health minister backs adding crack room to controversial 'shooting gallery' facility
A heroin shooting gallery may be extended to allow drug users to inhale crack cocaine without prosecution after the controversial move was yesterday backed by Scotland's Health Secretary. Neil Gray told MPs that the existing Glasgow drug consumption room pilot has 'limitations' because it only allows addicts to inject. He said there is 'international evidence' to support extending it to include an inhalation room, and the Scottish Government and Lord Advocate would consider the issue if there is an application by the operator of The Thistle. He also indicated support for considering further drug consumption rooms before the pilot scheme is evaluated. At Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee yesterday, Mr Gray said: 'I understand because of the changing nature of substance dependency that the current establishment of the facility on an injection facility basis may provide limitations, and there is international evidence to point to the relative success of inhalation facilities.' Bosses of the £2.3million 'safer consumption centre' in Glasgow first outlined proposals to set up an inhalation room for smoking crack cocaine within the facility in March. They hoped this would attract more addicts to the Scottish Government-financed clinic, which is run by the Glasgow City Council and NHS bosses. Laura Zeballos, deputy director of the Scottish Government's drugs policy division, yesterday said: 'There is international evidence that inhalation rooms are standard components of safer consumption facilities, we see that in many of the facilities in Germany, in Denmark and France, where their role in preventing respiratory harm is noted in the evidence base as a result.' Annemarie Ward, chief executive of Faces and Voices of Recovery, said: 'I'm deeply concerned. What Neil Gray is now floating is a further normalisation of drug use, this time by providing a publicly sanctioned space for people to inhale crack cocaine. Let's call this what it is: state-enabled self-destruction. 'The fact that this expansion is even being discussed before there's been any independent analysis of the Glasgow facility's impact should worry everyone. 'We are sprinting ahead with a radical public health experiment while bypassing basic evidence, democratic accountability, and common sense. 'The original injection facility was sold as a tightly controlled pilot — now we're talking about rolling out more sites, even as the drug death toll continues to mount and treatment access remains abysmal. 'We're giving out crack pipes, but we won't fund real rehab. ' Mr Gray said there is interest from other parts of Scotland for drug consumption rooms and they need to come forward with proposals. He said: 'That does not necessitate having to wait until the end of the pilot; that could happen before then.' Scottish Conservative drugs spokesman Annie Wells said: 'Neil Gray needs to drop this reckless plan and urgently confirm that his government will wait for a full report on their flagship facility before agreeing to support any more consumption rooms.' A Home Office minister yesterday said the Labour Government will not support drug consumption rooms and won't change laws to allow more to operate.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Fake doctor ordered to pay NHS £400k or face serving two extra years in prison
A bogus shrink has been ordered to pay back the NHS more than £400,000 or face two-and-a-half more years in prison. Zholia Alemi, 62, was jailed in February 2023 for seven years after she committed a string of fraud offences. Having forged her qualifications, she worked as psychiatrist on both sides of the Border earning up to £1.3million before she was caught. Alemi claimed to have a degree from the University of Auckland in New Zealand but a jury at Manchester Crown Court found her guilty of forging the degree certificate and letter of verification she used to register with the General Medical Council in 1995. She moved around the country to different posts for more than 20 years to ensure 'the finger of suspicion' did not point at her, the court heard. Alemi, from Burnley, Lancashire, worked 'more or less continuously' for NHS trusts and private providers across the UK in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This week a judge ordered her to pay £406,624 in compensation to the NHS or face more time in custody. Adrian Foster, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'We have robustly pursued the proceeds of crime with the NHS Counter Fraud Authority and have identified all the assets that she has available to pay her order. 'Alemi had little regard for patient welfare. She used forged New Zealand medical qualifications to obtain employment as an NHS psychiatrist for 20 years. 'In doing so, she must have treated hundreds of patients when she was unqualified to do so, potentially putting those patients at risk. 'Her fraudulent actions also enabled her to dishonestly earn income and benefits more than £1million, to which she was not entitled. She cheated the public purse and £406,624 will be paid in compensation to the NHS.' Alemi was convicted at Carlisle Crown Court in 2018 for three fraud offences and a count of theft after trying to forge the will and powers of attorney of an elderly patient. Following her conviction, a journalist made inquiries into Alemi's background and found she had never completed her qualification, the court was told. His inquiries led to Cumbria Police further probing Alemi's background. Alemi was born in Iran but in the early 1990s was in Auckland, but never completed her medical degree.
Telegraph
3 hours ago
- Telegraph
Male criminals can self-identify as women in mental health hospitals
NHS mental health hospitals are allowing male criminals to self-identify as women, NHS documents have revealed. Trusts in London are permitting transgender women to use female-only spaces despite acknowledging their presence as a 'risk to a particular gender' and potentially 'very distressing for other patients on a single-sex ward'. Campaigners have accused the NHS of endangering the welfare of the 'most vulnerable women' by allowing transgender women, who were born male, on female wards. A women's rights group used Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to obtain sex and gender policies at NHS mental health trusts in London. The recently disclosed documents found mental health trusts raising concerns over the guidance that forensic patients should use single-sex female spaces if they identified as women. Forensic patients are those referred to the NHS from court or prison for committing offences, or considered a potential risk to themselves or others because of a mental health disorder. Under the current NHS guidelines published in 2019, transgender people should be accommodated according to the way they dress, their name and pronouns, which 'may not always accord with the physical sex appearance of the chest or genitalia'. This also 'applies to toilet and bathing facilities', with the exception of pre-operative transgender people sharing open shower facilities. Policy at West London NHS Trust, which runs the high-security Broadmoor Hospital, abides by these guidelines, stating: 'A trans man or a trans woman must be admitted on to a ward in accordance with their presenting gender, if this is their preference.' It added: 'Patients should be addressed respectfully, using the pronouns of their acquired gender.' The trust cited an example of a transgender patient in a manic state getting undressed in front of women and revealing their genitals. It said: 'A patient with bipolar (who happens also to be trans) who is in a manic state and who does not have capacity may be disinhibited and at risk of disrobing in public. 'Depending on where they are in their transition, it may be more appropriate for them to be admitted to a ward that is in line with their birth gender … while they are acutely unwell and at risk of 'outing' themselves.' The policy document added: 'Once they have recovered and have regained capacity it would be essential to have a conversation with the patient around where they would be most comfortably accommodated, and to arrange a move to a ward in accordance with their correct gender.' Both trusts note that there may be circumstances where it is lawful to exclude a patient, transgender or otherwise, from a single-sex ward if it constitutes 'proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim' such as harm reduction. At Central and North Western London, a policy document said that 'further consideration may be needed as to how best to manage a trans individual' in some cases, such as when 'a sexually disinhibited pre-operative transsexual individual may be very distressing for other patients on a single-sex ward'. In such a 'rare occasion', the policy recommends the individual 'be transferred to a single room and consideration made to their temporary use of a disabled toilet should individual toilets not be available'. The trust said it 'respects an individual's right to self-identify as male or female ', and made clear that transgender women could access women's lavatories. The Equality and Human Rights Commission, the equalities watchdog, has issued interim guidance advising it should be 'compulsory' for workplaces to provide single-sex lavatories, though trans women should not be left with no facilities to use. The NHS is currently reviewing its guidelines on same-sex accommodation in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on biological sex. Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the human rights charity Sex Matters, said: 'It's deeply disturbing that the safety and welfare of some of the most vulnerable women in London – those in the care of state mental health services – are being so seriously compromised by NHS trusts. 'The Supreme Court judgment was crystal-clear that single-sex services must be run on the basis of biological sex. 'There is no excuse for a dangerous 'case-by-case' approach that deems some men safe to be housed in women's accommodation. 'These NHS trusts are missing the point: no male patient should ever be allowed in female accommodation under any circumstances. His claimed identity, history of sexual behaviour and whether he has had surgery to remove body parts are all irrelevant. So is the state of his mental and physical health. 'Safety and dignity of women' 'If health care managers cannot understand why this matters so much in mental health services, then they are not fit to run NHS trusts or to have female patients in their care.' A campaigner involved in the audit told The Times that it was 'scary to think' that the gender identity of violent criminals could 'override the safety and dignity of women'. They added: 'NHS trusts are playing Russian roulette with women's safety. The Supreme Court ruling clarified that single-sex spaces must be single sex, and it is vital that this is now enforced nationally across all hospitals.' An NHS spokesman said: 'The NHS is working through the implications of the Supreme Court ruling, and we absolutely recognise the need for revised guidance. It's important that we wait for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to publish its statutory guidance before final decisions about future policy are taken. 'In the meantime, we are working closely with Government to ensure we can provide updated guidance for the health service as soon as possible.'
