There muat be some way of getting help with medical issues.

Thus is my advice for your neighbour. She should email her complaint not telephone. She needs to write up a summary that is a clear, concise account of what has happened since she first saw her GP about the problem. She should include her approach to the practice manager and her response - this shows the ICB that she has done all she can. Also, have you a decent MP? If so, I would copy in the MP as, sadly, this sometimes means you get taken more seriously. My MP was very helpful in actually getting communications actually responded to. Do you know which ICB you come under?

There is a huge backlog for gynae diagnoses and treatment. My step daughter has waited nearly 3 years and has been in agony and desperate the entire time. She is only now receiving treatment.

can’t comment on the gynae issue without more info but it is quite common in gynae issues for various meds to be tried and some do make some people worse.

if her meds are hormonal contraception of some kind then it may be worth asking to try a different brand of the same meds or different meds eg combined pill etc.

in theory if you are in pain the gp should be prescribing to help you, in practice…..

if her pain is uterus related then there are painkillers that are often prescribed for gynae issues - mefenamic acid and tranexamic acid are two I have been on.

there are issues with getting painkillers prescribed these days as opiate based painkillers (codeine, tramadol and similar) are only supposed to be prescribed at lowest possible levels due to risk of addiction.

in addition painkillers in the ibuprofen family the doctors are now wary of because of evidence of stomach problems so the guidance is that they are supposed to prescribe stomach “protectors” like omeprazole alongside but also they are under pressure to reduce prescribing of these drugs.

so … this basically leaves nothing, myself and lots of my friends (I’m disabled) have come under a lot of pressure to reduce painkillers.

however it’s not ok to leave someone in pain and if she really really hassles the doctors they will prescribe.

over the counter she can get paracetamol, ibuprofen and co-codamol which is paracetamol with codeine.

ask for painkillers and push that she is in pain and they’ll probably prescribe mefenamic acid or similar and stomach protector.

re the second opinion, if she has gynae issues the treatment is often some kind of hormones. Some of these are not suitable for eg people with a history of breast cancer so it’s possible that this was what the consultant was talking about?

biopsies are usually for cancer situations.

unfortunatrly PALS do not cover GP practices. We’re supposed to complain to the practice manager who is employed by the very GP we want to complain about. It’s an absolute disgrace. Is she up to ringing your local ICB ( integrated care board). They control the purse strings and will deal with GP complaints.

If she is in really bad pain visit A&E they can do a CT and refer you gyne if they feel it is needed. I went to A&E with lower back pain CT found a lesion on my spine do they did and MRI there is thickening and a mass in my uterus so I’m having a biopsy on Wednesday as there is a possibility it could be uterine cancer, she needs to get it checked ASAP and if the GP won’t help go to A&E

Odd title. Is there a privatisation campaign running, to warm us up?

She can use right to treatment if in uk. If she gets the GP to fo another referral, that referral can be directed to a private hospital near her that has a shorter waiting list (if the waiting time for gynae nhs appt is longer than their published waiting time) as long as the private accepts right to treatment/nhs patients. Google right to treatment for more info.

In which way did the treatment make her condition worse, OP?

She is telling you she has had x,y,z conversation with her doctors, you have no idea how true her account is. You realize that? I say that only because you seem so invested and horrified by this but by your own admission know little about

PALs might be her next step if there is a genuine belief the treatment is causing harm in dont know why the drs want to harm her though

Not all medical conditions can be treated, or resolved or cured.

Some illnesses are horrific and yet there is no known way to improve things, also sometimes someone thinks 1 condition is the main cause of their issues when actually it's another.

It's very likely that this woman's medical team know a lot more about what is happening with her than you do.

I do know my GP was not allowed to convert a private prescription to an NHS one for me, but I've never experienced him refusing to follow a private consultant's advice. That sounds very strange.
Can your neighbour request an appointment with a different GP in the practice? Also, private consultants usually send quite clear reports of their diagnoses to both patient and GP. I would get your neighbour to make a copy of hers, underline the important bits in red, and put it down on the desk when speaking to the GP.

Who made the diagnosis? GP or gynaecologist? Could she ask for an NHS gyn referral for review (I know the waiting lists are long)?

I agree with pain clinic referral if GP can't manage her pain. I found them really helpful personally when I had difficult to manage pain