Stop telling people to go to A&E!

I'm really sorry this happened to you. I would try 111 again and tell them A&E sent you home.

There's a disconnect between the 111 algorithm that sent you to A&E and the person or system in A&E. It's really frustrating and so hard to handle when you're in pain.

Lots have GP service as well as a&e, as in lots of areas u can’t get a gp appointment.

I think you just got really poor treatment OP. I don't think it's reflective of how others would be treated

‘In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands (which I visit and where friends and family live) medical services are easily accessed so a&e departments are not in emergency mode. We should ask ourselves how we've got here and demand an immediate response from the next Labour government. ‘

in all those countries, those who are ‘able’ to subscribe to Health Insurance by a regular financial contribution are obliged to do so _ and that means almost everyone. The health services therefore have greater resources than a taxation only funded service.

Why do I think the next Labour Government won’t be introducing a similar scheme as a priority?

Has the painkiller helped?

You can get antibiotics for UTI's online without a prescription. I got some from Boots and collected them the next day but lots of the on line pharmacies do them.

It turned out I actually had vaginal atrophy and HRT has sorted me out.

most of the "shall I go to A&E get a mixed bag of replies form Yes/No to call 111.
Mine are generally along the liens of "it doesn't sound like an accident or an emergency"

I was disagreeing with you to start with, but now I am agreeing that you should not be going to A&E for a diagnosis of a ongoing issue.
I am "lucky" where I am that you can often get a same day appointment for a potentially serious issue (for example my DD had a tick bite and got seen that afternoon), although it's not always at your own surgery - getting a routine appointment is a totally different ball game (impossible).
Sudden onset of pain though, or severe pain and not been able to see anyone at surgery, then sadly, I'd go to A&E.
(I wouldn't ask on mumsnet though!)

i get you are frustrated but your shoddy experience is not the fault of MN user suggesting a&e at times

If you think it could be a uti I recommend if you have one a sexual health clinic, when I had mysterious pain, trouble peeing etc they saw me, did swabs, bloods etc and then posted the prescription to me (as I lived a decent drive away from the clinic)

I don't visit the doctor often, but when I've phoned up and been unable to secure an appointment they have told me to contact 111.

When I have done that, they have always offered me an appointment at another surgery the same day. Is this not common? I'm in London.

Personally I wouldn't visit A&E unless it was life threatening or something that required immediate attention (broken bones etc).

I was really ill 2 summers ago with a UTI, which I'm prone to and under a consultant. I have a pop up on my medical record at my surgery to give me antibiotics without an appointment if I bring a sample in to be tested and it shows up on a dip test that I have an infection and I'm symptomatic.
My body just seemed to have stop responding to the antibiotics I was normally given and I woke up in excruciating pain one morning and couldn't get an appointment with my GP so I went to A&E. I was there around 9 hours and had blood tests, sample sent off and was given pain relief and felt a little better. I was told by the Dr I could go home so off I went. A few hours later, I received a phone call from my consultant telling me to get myself back to A&E immediately as I had uro-sepsis and needed a 7 day course of IV antibiotics. By this point, the pain killers had worn off and I was the pain was more extreme.

The NHS can sometimes be wonderful, especially if you are seen by a medical professional who still cares about their patients and hasn't been dragged down by the pressures faced by the ever mounting patients and workload. But sadly those are very rare and you almost always end up seeing overworked Drs who are pressured to discharge as soon as possible.

Wouldn’t you try the out of hours GP before A&E?

I'm sorry that you felt he was unreasonable and angry, but A&E is massively stretched too. It must make them dizzy how many people don’t need to be there; but by being there, are making it so much worse for the doctors and nurses and the other patients.

Pharmacists can prescribe things like some antibiotics. They can't supply prescription-only painkillers.

I have had chronic pain recently, a frozen shoulder. I couldn't sleep for the pain, couldn't move my arm, was having to be washed and dressed. I was also crying with pain. It sounds like such an inoccuous thing but the pain is off the scale. It's got me thinking.

I had to wait 2 months for a cortisone injection after which I got my life back and could start working again. But to be unable to work for those months has a financial impact on the overall economy when you multiply it by all the people waiting. It doesn't seem like joined up thinking to me.

It's shocking that unless what you have is life threatening you seemingly can't be seen these days.

Have you tried an consult on the NHS app? 111? A&E stands for accident and emergency, pain for over a month is neither of these I'm afraid.

Also you say they gave you painkillers, so they didn't actually ignore you and do nothing did they? They can't do investigations into chronic illness in A&E, it's not set up for that. They deal with presenting problems, in this case pain, and your GP does the rest.

I'm really sorry you are in pain, it sucks, but you need to access care via the GP.

No one HAS to do what a random person on the Internet tells them to

This whole thread reads like what would happen in a war or emergency setting or a third world country. Not in one if the richest countries in the world. What a disgrace, and none of us should just accept this is how it is. In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands (which I visit and where friends and family live) medical services are easily accessed so a&e departments are not in emergency mode. We should ask ourselves how we've got here and demand an immediate response from the next Labour government. Not accept the situation and judge people for going to a&e!

Is the paracetamol working? Can you get any stronger painkillers? You said that people can’t afford private healthcare. Can you afford to see a GP privately?

No, there are numerous conditions that may start off by appearing to be relatively innocuous but are still life threatening.

Any severe pain of an undetermined cause requires prompt assessment.

Call 111

SUDDEN severe pain is an emergency.

Ongoing pain is not, especially if the OP had not taken a pain killer.

@Miriad go to the doctors surgery and insist on seeing a doctor. This is far more effective at getting an appointment than phoning. In the mean time keep taking pain killers.