A former model says she will never set foot inside her local GP surgery again after staff left a message on her answer phone mocking her appearance.
Aimi Veness says she was left shocked and upset at the message and was now transferring to another practice.
Mrs Veness, 37, had contacted Little Common Surgery near Bexhill because she was worried about her PIP breast implants.
She got a call back on her mobile from the surgery, saying she wasn’t entitled to a scan on the NHS.
However when she got home she discovered there was another message on her home phone that had been left earlier.
Mrs Veness, a clothes designer from Bexhill, said she could hear a group of people laughing and that one member of staff could be heard saying, “What does she look like? Bet she is a right old dog.”
She said staff must have accidentally left the surgery phone off the hook while the answering machine taped the conversation, which lasted for less than two minutes.
Mrs Veness told The Argus: “I was obviously really upset and embarrassed when I heard it.
“It was the way everyone was laughing and talking about me like that was awful.
“I can’t ever go back there again.”
During the conversation, staff are heard saying “Let’s have a look at her passport photo” , and this is followed by laughter.
Mrs Veness said she had supplied the picture for her confidential records.
Her son Harry, 15, and her husband, Mark, will also be leaving the practice.
Mrs Veness, a former lapdancer, spent £10,000 on implants at a private clinic nine years ago and was looking for medical advice following the recent PIP health scare.
A spokesman for NHS Sussex said: “We apologise to Ms Veness for what we understand was a very distressing experience and invite her to contact us directly so that we can keep her informed of the action taken.
“The confidentiality of patient information is protected by law and patients have a right to expect their information to be handled appropriately by those who need to access it.
“GP practices all have clear HR policies with which to tackle any issues of staff behaviour.
“We will be asking the practice to carry out an investigation into these allegations, act upon its findings and report back to the PCT.”
source: theargus.co.uk
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