Have I been a twat or should the GP surgery have given me an appointment?

Your GP hasn't got x-ray vision - they'd just send you to minor injuries anyway, if they eyeballed you themselves.

Such horrid language in your thread title - why? Is it necessary? Can't avoid seeing it if trying to join other threads 😥😥😥

I have asked them again for an appointment and asked for it to be escalated as I’m not happy with being told to go to minor injuries. I’m really exhausted and confused as to whether I’m in the right here?! From what I’ve read it’s usual to have a few signs looked at with the toe to decide if an x ray is needed and that this is something a GP could do.

The GPs have given you the correct medical pathway.

The GPs could slot you in to have a Doctor look at your foot and listen to your symptoms and tell you the exact same thing as the person who answered the phone.

Sorry I am clueless about these things I’ve been lucky it’s not happened before. Do you tape it to the other toe presumably? How tightly?!

If you are clueless dont try to tape a swollen toe. While it is likely to heal without problem on its own stressing a fracture could create long term damage.

Call your local MI/ the fracture clinic and see if they do appointments.

How and why did you fall?
How did you land in a way to break your toe?

There's no way a medical professional can say for sure whether it's broken just by examining and without an x ray. I broke my ankle last year, I knew I had because I heard it snap and could feel it was broken. At my initial examination at A&E, I was told he was sure it was just a sprain and sent for an X ray which confirmed the fracture.

YABU, why do you think you know better than the receptionist signposting you? They've told you to go to MIU - so go to MIU and stop wasting their time

The GP practice was correct. Short of strapping it up (which you could do) nothing else they can do except advise X-ray. I probably wouldn’t even bother doing that at this stage.
This is why there’s no appointments folks. Practice nurse.

YABU. No point in going to see GP. They do not have x-ray vision!

Its a toe!
A toe.
What do you think inor injury unit will do.
Even if its broken, they can't do anything.

No no you need to get your toe xrayed if it’s your big one. They don’t care about the others but you have to get it set if it’s the big one.
I fell down the stairs last year and broke mine and had to get it xrayed and given a boot and two additional xrays. If it heals wrong it will impact your balance and ability to walk / run. Go to minor injuries

I hurt my toe and was told to go to minor injuries or A&E, can’t remember exactly (was a few year’s ago). I think they said it was broken. Nothing you can do except give it time to heal. I remember hobbling around for quite some time.

No wonder they struggle to recruit GPs 😬

I think you've answered your own question there. If you literally don't have the time to do something about a relatively minor injury that isn't getting any worse, you do nothing and carry on with your day.

If it isn't serious or problematic enough for you to make it a priority and rearrange your day around it then it probably isn't serious enough for the GP or the Minor Injuries unit.

I might be completely wrong, but I think if you call 111 and they can sometimes allocate an appointment at minor injuries.

YABU. A GP wouldn't be able to tell for sure it wasn’t broken without a x-ray. But in any case, in my experience, even if it is broken they won’t be able to do anything about it. Unless it’s really displaced, which doesn’t sound like the case (particularly as the swelling is going down), they would just tell you it will heal on its own.

It’s true you can’t tell if it’s broken without an x ray. But knowing it’s broken doesn’t make much difference to the treatment. It needs stabilising and rest. That’s not something you need special equipment or expertise to do.

In my area and the one I lived in before that, minor injuries was actually very efficient and there was never any significant delays. Just drop your daughter at nursery, head over there, if you end up waiting too long and need to pick her up, then just leave? I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.

Just tape it up and carry on. What do you expect a GP to do?

if you did get a GP apt chances are he could not do a lot without an x ray to show for any breaks etc so you would just be told the same advice

I agree. I have broken my big toe twice. The first time I went to minor injuries and had an x ray. They taped it to the next toe to stabilise it and it gradually healed. No other treatment. The second time I didn’t go to the doctor or hospital. Just taped it, rested it and it gradually healed. I really don’t think there is anything much to be done. Only seek treatment if it is getting worse.

A broken toe is usually not a big issue and you can probably deal with it without disruption. But inevitably something will happen in your life, or with your DD, home, wider family etc. which will need urgent attention that you can’t ignore. Start thinking about contingency plans now. Identify who will look after your DD in an emergency.

If you think it's getting better and you can walk on it, you can take a risk on it not being broken and see how it goes. You could let a pharmacist have a look if you want a more professional opinion and if they are easy to get to. I don't think a GP would risk saying it's definitely not broken so that will just be an extra thing rather than the end of it.

Nope, you'd need an x-ray. My DC and I have had broken limbs and impossible to tell without an x-ray, unless it is super painful and obvious. The less obvious ones are the ones that you need an x-ray for. Good luck.

My son walked around with a broken wrist for a week because I believed the medical opinion that it was just sprained. You just can’t tell without an xray.

If a chemist told you that they don't sell a particular drug that would make you better but the chemist 40 minutes away does sell that drug what would you do?

Keep going back to the chemist that doesn't sell the drug or drive the chemist that does sell the drug?

I’m sorry OP, but this comment is exactly why the general population need educating on whether to go to a GP, Pharmacy, Minor Injuries, A&E etc.

You need to keep your foot elevated, use ice packs, ibuprofen and avoid putting too much weight on it. If it’s agony and the swelling is increasing then go to Minor Injuries if you’re really concerned.

All the GP would do is prescribe some antibiotics if they thought it looked infected. But from what you’ve described it doesn’t sound like it’s infected at all, just bruised.