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

Which is great if you have a walk in eye clinic. Why do people on here not realise not all hospitals are the same. The fact that op is having to travel and stay in hotels for her son's appointments shows she's most likely in an area that doesn't have all these specialist services. The nhs is a postcode lottery and people living in large cities will have a significantly different experience then those living rural

Well the pain was that bad she went when it was convenient?

The nurse was exasperated. We need more of them telling people to see their GPs before A&E regardless of what 111 say.

But she hadn’t had the problem for weeks. She had what she thought was a simple earache until her friend pointed out that there was a foreign object there causing the pain. She also said the pain had worsened.

And OP was triaged in minor injuries, so the HCP wasn’t run ragged with serious injuries, she was just pissed that A&E were sending her patients, resulting in a long waiting list - none of which is anything remotely concerning OP. There is simply no excuse for being so rude to a patient and belittling them to the point where they leave without treatment.

I’ve experienced similar in paeds settings.
Sadly this is the state of nursing in some places, and has been for a long time. Whilst this of course isn’t across the board, nurses are quite often not the overworked grafters they’re purported to be.

Ignoring what a GP would or wouldnt do if presented with this situation. A GP is who you should go to with an ailment that you have 'put up with' for days if not weeks.

It is neither and accident or an emergency even if you might get referred there. The A&E dept are there for emergencies. Yours is not even close and even if you were referred there it would be by appointment which means they could work around your issue.

The nurse told you the truth, you didnt like it.

Who the hell goes to A&E for entertainment anyway? It's horrible waiting on a hard seat for hours in pain.

Are you not aware Klinik is just one of several online triage and consultation software providers available to general practices and many alternatives are used , some of which are shite.GP surgeries can have different internal operational policies regarding how they handle urgent care and route patients to A&E too.

Loving the way the entire country is supposed to run like Lexibletheflexible ‘s London GP.

You are aware that things can progress and evolve into an emergency?

Honestly mn worries me, so many people telling others they don’t need to go to a&e and blaming them for the state of the NHS. Op went to a&e on the advice of 111, she was treated unprofessionally, rudely and wasn’t triaged properly.

Not in Uk but a triage nurse dismissively told a relative, who had been sent to a&e by the GP, that the issue was minor and she was surprised the GP had referred to a&e. Relative was admitted a few hours later and was an inpatient for over a week.

Did you go to minor injuries as suggested? If she was triage that's her job to send you to the best place, you would wait forever in a&e if you are very low priority.

NHS is an absolute shit show. Why we worship this system which is no longer viable (however much money we throw at it at he expense of everything else) is beyond me. The day it is scrapped will be a day to celebrate. Trust me that day is coming it's a mathematical certainty with the changing demographics.

OP - don’t let this nurse shame you, you did nothing wrong. The staff need to be telling the abusive drunks, druggies and frequent flyers where to go, not you, but they won’t as those types will kick off.

There is lots that is frustrating being an NHS worker. But you know what, you keep your feelings to yourself and deal with it. I sometimes roll my eyes inside and occasionally think a swear word when I find a situation challenging. You do not take out your anger by being rude and dismissive to the patient. That’s so damn unprofessional.

I had to go to A&E heavily pregnant with a suspected blood clot.

I'd rather die than ever going in there again.

OP sorry you're getting a rough ride on here. I too had the same issue as you, but it was a silicone earplug and had got stuck in my ear canal. I went to my GP who tried to remove it but couldn't and made my ear bleed, so they sent me to A&E. After assessment they sent me to ENT straight away and it was removed with specialist equipment.

The GP usually does not have this equipment so you absolutely need to go to the hospital. The good thing is as its metal stuck in your ear the liklihood of infection is low since it's not organic matter.

But that isn't what happened or the OP's situation. Pain is pain and you don't get to control when you're in pain. The nurse was wrong, end of.

That's for routine appointments. And besides, in at least some cases, you wouldn't even need to see a GP. For the ear thing, I'd have put in a digital request that is triaged promptly and it would have been sorted by phone. We have to always use that system. It's called Klinik.

So doctors and A&E staff on here don’t know what they’re talking about.

There is no ENT emergency in our area. You are supposed to go to yep you’ve guessed it A&E MIU triage- which is where the op was.

'I think perhaps going at night when things are already stretched in an and e was where you went wrong'

This. Imagine being a run ragged hcp. Treating serious, acute onset illnesses and someone wanders in saying 'I've had this problem weeks'. I'd also be a bit 'fgs really'

Sure, we’ve all had stressful days at work.
But to send this person home without so much as examining the ear - this would take less than a minute - is actually borderline negligent.
Minor injuries is a perfectly acceptable place for this condition, with these symptoms. I am rather bemused at the number of presumably non-medically qualified people on this forum who are clearly experienced triage nurses.

GPs can call ahead if they think patients need something specific in A and E. But it depends on the GP, how much time they have, whether somebody actually picks up the phone at the other end, if the person they speak to is helpful, is that service even available in that A and E etc. So many variables when human beings are involved. It’s not a perfect system. People need to be careful when extrapolating their individual experiences with such certainty and confidence.

The nurse was very rude and dismissive-honestly since Covid some NHS staff have started treating people rudely. It’s almost like you have to prove you’re worthy of their help. Stand your ground, be firm and clear about what you want and don’t let them dismiss your pain. I suspect the GP will just send you back.

Seems appropriate to go to minor injuries clinic especially if you were following 111 advice. I cannot imagine a GP will be able to remove something so small from your ear so will just send you back there.

To be fair, I’ve had ear infections that have ruptured my ear drum, it heals itself- so a ruptured ear drum isn’t actually a massive deal in itself anyway.

I think perhaps going at night when things are already stretched in an and e was where you went wrong. If you do feel you have to go, go at a more reasonable time, during the day for example. It was not that urgent it couldn’t have waited until morning- I can understand why she felt a bit frustrated.

I had a fall and it wasn’t until some weeks later that severe pain developed in the area affected, where there had previously only been mild discomfort and bruising. My GP surgery refused to give me an appointment and referred me to A&E. OP is in a similar position. What she thought was a simple earache she’d had for weeks turned out to be as a result of an embedded object. Entirely appropriate to A&E, which is what her GP will suggest.