I get that a&e is busy, but was not expecting to be spoken to so rudely

And it’s people like you who give terrible advice online that may prevent people seeking the care they need.
it is not people like the op who cause huge waiting times - it is decades of underfunding and privatisation coupled with chronic mismanagement of available resources.

You’re in the wrong. You’ve been in pain since lunch time you should have called your GP while they were open. They would then refer you to the most appropriate place. A&E is for emergencies- things that have just happened right then not things that have been going on a few days. If you couldn’t have got in with your GP then you’d head to the pharmacy where they could take a look and if needed they could refer you to the correct people. Always best to get the referral as it shows you’ve followed the process they want you to follow to keep waiting times down.

unfortunately the NHS is on its knees, more and more people are turning up and using it not in the way it was designed. That with GPs not having the same service they had years ago is a disaster.

I hope your ear is better soon

Yes but in most hospitals the x-ray department is pretty much next door to A+E.
Personally I'd prefer to go...
My home to A+E to X-ray
rather than...
My home to GP to A+E to X-ray
Going to the GP is an extra step that's not needed.

• along with air con of course and proper ventilation and more space

I'm terrified of needing care now through a and e and I'm middle aged.

I honestly don't know how I would cope as an older person on a and e hard chair esp in summer heat or winter cold.

The entire set up needs re designing and looking at

They need different seating for certain people eg those with a broken arm could probably survive on the current hard seats as long as the person next to them was observant and kind.

However someone with acute pain or sickness could be assigned a reclning type chair it wouldn't fake much and yet make such a difference.

Yes general practitioners not ENT specialist.
ENT specialist have additional training and expertise in the area of Ears, Nose and Throat. This additional training and expertise allows them to do things a GP can not safely do.
If you break your leg your GP doesn't put the cast on the leg or if you need open heart surgery your GP doesn't open you up in the surgery.

It seems odd the 111 told you to go to a&e not urgent care. Is there no urgent care in your area? In my area when I broke a bone that is where 111 told me to go. I thought a&e was for life threatening injuries.

Ok the scenario i was responded to was days-weeks after the event.

Our GP doesn't refer for X-ray - they tell you to go to a and e

I’m with the a+e nurse, I don’t think it’s okay that she was rude but there’s no need to go to a+e for something that isn’t an emergency and that has been there for weeks. If you survived the past few weeks you’ll be fine for another day or two while you wait to see your GP. Unfortunately it’s people like you who cause massive waiting times in a+e for issues that can be resolved elsewhere if you’re willing to wait.

Surely any audiologist who does microsuction, could easily remove this?

I think you were absolutely right to go to A&E, and the nurse was both rude and negligent, as you are now finding. I really hope you have a better experience today and feel better soon.

No it wouldn't. If they suspect you have a broken bone, they'll send you in right away. It takes about 3 clicks of a mouse to set that up.

Some people are good at and/or well suited to their jobs. Some aren’t. The NHS is no different. Hope you get sorted OP.

I do hope you make a complaint OP, when you're feeling up to it. That nurse needs some extra training on how to treat patients, dread to think what might happen if she spoke like that to someone with a potentially life threatening condition (for instance a woman having a heart attack that presents like indigestion pain)

I once had to complain about a doctor who refused to prescribe me painkillers, instead saying young people need to learn to cope with pain. I ended up going to A&E in agony to get pain relief and the doctor there told me to complain, so I did and I was told she received extra training on how to treat patients (which she definitely needed, she was notorious in my town for poor bedside manner)

Sorry your pain has increased. I really hope that you are taken seriously this time and you get the treatment you need

Some batshit responses, and opinions on here.

YANBU at all @mitsicar Do people actually know what A & E stands for?

ACCIDENT

AND

EMERGENCY!

It's for emergencies, and accidents!!

It's not just for people who have an arm hanging off, or who have been in a car crash. It's for accidents too.

You have your hearing at risk OP, you needed to be seen, and that nurse was rude af! Go back. You have every right to be seen.

I agree with the posters saying that some nurses are not kind and caring at all, and I do wonder why they're in the job. When I was in hospital for 2 nights/3 days several years ago for something (won't say what) they were quite rude to me. They rolled their eyes and mocked me, and I could hear them laughing at me behind my back. Mostly in their 20s and early 30s they were, and I felt so upset and angry. I was very vulnerable and I felt really down and sad that they were being unkind.

I hated being there, and discharged myself around 2-3 days before I should have. I told my GP why. I said 'the nurses were rude, and I was ignored a lot, and not treated very well.' Seriously, I'll have to be unconscious before I will go and stay in hospital again.

When my parents and grandparents were ill and in hospital pre 21st century, the nurses seems soooo much lovelier and kinder then. People would take flowers and chocolates and various other gifts in for them to thank them for how they'd looked after them. They were a different breed then. Lovely and kind.

Not saying ALL nurses are unkind and rude now by the way, but many more are now compared to when I was much younger (pre 21st century...)

You were in the right place, just be more assertive next time

Glad you are now going to A&E (again!), hope they get it sorted quickly and there is no permanent damage.
Everyone saying that this is not for A&E/minor injuries is wrong. Even an emergency ENT referral would take weeks and as you've now found out, the longer it is left, the more damage that may be done. You followed all the correct steps in ringing 111 first and following their advice, the only things you did wrong were not going a bit sooner (although I completely understand, having waited over a year for many specialist appointments for my child, I'd not risk missing them either!) and then leaving after the triage nurse was rude.
Personally I'd consider speaking to PALs about your experience, as the advice this nurse gave you was incorrect and clearly she made you feel uncomfortable.

She didn't know she had something in her ear until her friend saw it though - she went when she knew.

It was a few hours after when she finally got home and still open but left me with impression if x-ray was ever needed our GP wouldn't be correct place. MIL in another part of UK painfull getting worse knee joint GP visists and was told she need an x-ray this was a problem that had been gettong worse over 18 months - had to present herself at minor injuries and wait for x-ray as her GP didn't book x-rays either.

IME how NHS operates varies round the country - GP who are independent enties all operate differently under different health boards.

We've had people kick off when ambulanced have been call entirely appropriately for elderly relatives - because people think they know better or "common" sense tells them it wasn't neccssary or insist the system works a way it doesn't becuase they think it should or does in their area.

OP probably klciking herslef for not seeing GP earlier - and parents do deprioritise themsleves especailly with sick kids - but with a deteriorating condition seeking medical advice as soon as possible was entirely appropriate action. All the made up scenarios in the world or 20/20 hindsight do not change that.

Why?
If you went to A+E/Minor Injuries/Urgent Care you'd be sent to x-ray then and there.
A referral from your GP would take ages.

Hi op, sorry you had a bad experience. A&E sister here, and you would need to go to A&E for ENT referral. We have an ENT daily clinic within ED but only 9-5 so I would have triaged you and sent you home to return the next morning for ENT. Your GP can’t manage that. Minor injuries could if it had just happened but after a few weeks being in situ you need ENT xx

The foreign body in your ear is deep, from what you have said in your post and there could be swelling which is affecting the nerves in your jaw and an infection may be starting so I suggest you seek out a local walk in clinic who may be able to treat you.

You need to email PALS ( patient advice and liason service) at the hospital where this incident occurred and remember to give them the date and time you were triaged, so they can identify the member of staff who was rude to you because action needs to be be taken against her as her conduct is absalutely atrocious. PALS will speak to the senior members of the A&E dept and feedback wil be given to her.

Not all ruptured eardrums heal by themselves. When it doesn't heal it needs surgery which comes with a lot of risks and doesn't always work. Far better to try and prevent a rupture in the first place