Facebook post patient facing GP delisting

A ST ANDREWS woman has been threatened with removal from her medical practice after criticising it on Facebook.

Shanna Pitbladdo has been a patient at Pipeland Medical Practice, based at St Andrews Community Hospital, for more than 16 years.

But she was warned her days there may be numbered due to a comment she made on social media.

In the post on a private St Andrews Facebook group with more than 3,000 members, she claimed standards at the practice were falling.

She called on others of the same view to get in touch.

Just days after the post, which was later deleted from the forum, she received a letter from Pipeland.

The letter said the online post was an “entirely unhelpful manner” to raise concerns.

And it claimed the patient-clinical relationship had “broken down”.

It added: “Should we feel this is irreconcilable, we can exercise our right to remove you as a patient from our practice list.”

Shanna, 31, said she relies on the practice after being diagnosed with functional neurological disorder (FND) in 2020 – which regularly causes her issues with speech, sight and partial paralysis.

She had become unhappy with the surgery after claims there had been mistakes with prescriptions and difficulties in securing appointments and raised issues with the practice directly in February but was unimpressed with the response.

Shanna said: “My post on social media was a bid to make contact with others feeling the same way – in no way did I write anything that was either offensive or derogatory.”

Shanna said she had been forced to find an alternative GP practice, though Pipeland insists it has not removed her from its list.

A statement issued by the practice said: “The vast majority of patients who we care for are very happy with the standard of care we provide.”

Shanna Pitbladdo has complex medical care needs.