Complaint to the ASA about ‘as one’

 

This is the website. https://www.betterasone.co.uk/how-it-works/

It’s very sad to see such a poor description and understanding of general practice.

The description of ‘how it works’ on the URL I’ve posted features a time line of ‘normal treatment’ for patients after they have seen their GP.
It claims that it takes
-a week to get a GP appointment
-the GP treating ‘non urgent’ symptoms by ‘returning in a week or two to see if things have improved’
-meeting again and ‘this time perhaps a prescription’
-another meeting to review progress
-then another appointment where the GP might refer
– and the GP may not refer to the right person because of ‘limited connections’.

I find this
1) factually incorrect. ‘normal’ practice is that GPs will refer as appropriate when patients require it. That could be at the first appointment. Prescriptions and holding measures are not used to delay referral but because many conditions resolve themselves and don’t require referral. The ‘normal’ course of action by GPs is presented misleadingly as on of inaction. This is wrong factually, and is scaremongering and misleading.
2) It does not take a week to get an appointment; many surgeries offer ‘on the day’ or telephone appointments and all will see urgent cases on the day. It is misleading to suggest that all patients must normally wait a week.
3) The ‘normal’ treatment of GPs for patients claims that GPs have inadequate knowledge of specialists locally. This is incorrect, misleading and alarmist nonsense.
4) There is a supposition that referral is delayed by prescriptions. This is not based in fact.
5) Diagnosis and tests appear to be only available once referred. This is incorrect. Many diagnoses don’t need tests and are performed by the GP. Many tests can be provided in primary care.

In summary this is a misleading advert full of false premise and I would be grateful for your urgent attention to it.
many thanks.

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