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

💯. Every call to 111 is told to go to A&E so people feel justified in wasting time there because they were told to.

Its this strange justification by people not understanding that 111 doesnt want to be sued in case of the small percentage of people who actually do need A&E and frankly most people know when it’s an actual emergency and don’t have time to call and speak to a doctor.

Of course you should go to your GP. It wasn’t an emergency and it has been weeks. YABU.

Where l live the GP can send you to "Hot Clinics" to avoid A&E/minor injuries. So when my son had an item in his ear we were sent to the ENT hot clinic and saw a specialist there the same day.

I would probably file a complaint and say that you were made to feel like a time waster and went home in agony!
I suspect you’ll see your GP & they’ll send you to minor injuries!! But at least you’ll go armed with a letter from them!

ENT is a year or more for most of the country. I don't think you've any choice than to go back tomorrow and stand firm. Sorry OP. I get where the nurse is coming from but she is in minor injuries so she overreacted. Prob had a shit day and took it out on you.

Can you actually get a GP appointment the next day? If you are lucky in my area you might get a phone consult and that isn’t always with a GP.

That is the reason A&E is swamped

I’d go back and just check in with reception saying you’ve been waiting but not been called again yet. They take hours anyway, even after triage. Ours overspills so last time I went we were far from the actual waiting room, in a section where wheelchairs were parked alongside cleaners trolley.

@KeepPumping There’s no need to quote the entire OP.

A lot are called "Urgent Treatment Centres" now (or "UTC").
Sometimes they are within an A+E dept, sometimes completely separate.

We have an ear clinic in our town and you can get same day appointments for micro suction of ear wax. I expect they could suck the back of that ear ring out. There are loads of these places everywhere so have a look online to see if one is near you. Ours charge £40.

But she isn't OK. Read her posts.

If you left and are ok it’s not an emergency.

Did you bother to read the OP? Judging by the 2 posts you have contributed it seems not.

@mitsicar Is it set up so that you can only access minor injuries via A&E?

Because that would certainly explain why I can’t find any minor injuries near my area now….

I hope you get it sorted and I’m sorry she was so rubbish. Not even slightly surprised, but sorry for you

Given that you definitely have an object stuck in your ear, could you see an audiologist? Or do you need a doctor in case there’s an infection?

If your gp sends you down the referral rabbit hole or if you can’t get an appt tomorrow, is it worth calling an audiologist to ASK if they can help? You’d have to pay, but you’ll be able to get an appt fairly quickly.

If they say this isn’t their area, you can always go back to minor injuries.

Sleep with your ear on a magnet

Nonsense. It is for accidents and emergencies, whether they are life-threatening or not. If you broke your leg tomorrow, that wouldn't be life threatening. Are you seriously claiming that you would calmly wait for a GP appointment and the GP's further referral for X rays etc?

That term includes accidents which have the potential to cause serious damage to a person's hearing. OP followed the advice she received, she did nothing wrong.

I’d go back. You need to say “I’ve been advised by 111 to attend Minor Injuries”. End of. Take snacks and water as you will be there a while.

Of course, but everyone has bad days. Maybe she snapped at OP then felt bad about it after she left we don’t know.

I don’t expect people to be robots just because they are in public facing roles.

The NHS is very hit and miss now..A few years ago I had to take my 89 year old mother to A+E. She had shingles ( which in itself took a few trips to doctors before it was properly diagnosed. Initially they were saying it was an ear infection and giving antibiotics, which was totally wrong). She was in a real state.....she had it on her face. her lip was bright red and really swollen, she had been vomitting repeatedly , had diarrhoea , was hallucinating and in severe pain. ..I had to have a fight with the receptionist to get her to take it seriously because she said " it's only shingles. You shouldnt be in A+E.." I got nasty and told her my mum was talking gibberish from hallucinating and didnt know where she was and needed to see a doctor immediately. Fortunately we saw a lovely doctor who prescribed gabapentin for the dreadful pain my mum was in . Eventually it was all resolved. But the whole experience, moving from one place to another, wrong diagnosis, wrong treatment, lack of help generally , was appalling . I couldnt believe they treated an 89 year old very ill woman like that. Nobody seemed to know what they were doing..GPs getting it wrong, A+E being difficult. It was really awful. I was disgusted.

Go to a big A&E first thing in the morning. They will have a minor injuries unit, if that's suitable, but are likely to want to call ENT to have a look, which is why it's a good idea to go to a big A&E in a hospital with a variety of specialities. Explain that pain has ramped up suddenly and that it may be due to a lost earring back from a few weeks ago.

Your GP may have a look but is likely to send you to A&E where you can see the on call ENT doc anyway and you can save time by just taking yourself there instead.

You did nothing wrong. The NHS is dire. It really is. I had to wait six hours with my brother in law earlier this year in A&E. He’d had a stroke but because he was an alcoholic (recently died), they thought he’d just binged on alcohol and his slurred speech was due to that. They finally tested him for a stroke two days later. Horrible nursing staff too - rude and just have a can’t be arsed attitude. I’m in pretty good health and just pray I stay that way. I’d hate to be at the mercy of the NHS. After years of being against the principal of private health care, I’m now in Bupa, but obviously that doesn’t cover A&E situations. I’ve had numerous really poor experiences with the NHS over the last couple of years in relation to elderly relatives, and have zero confidence in the system.

She absolutely shouldn't have been so rude, that was totally unnecessary. I think the problem was probably more the time than where you were - the minor injuries clinic might be 24 hours, but that's so that things that arise in the night can be treated, not so people can go outside working hours for their own convenience. They will have fewer staff at night and it will be harder for them to get hold of an ENT specialist at night. Again, though, that's not a reason to be rude to you.

Sorry, did we miss the part where she was forced at gunpoint to do "that job?"

Pretty much every job has slightly annoying customers/Interactions (not that I think OP was one). If you cant manage the absolute basic of being polite to them (and moan to a colleague when they are out of earshot or your partner when you go home if you really need to) you shouldn't CHOOSE a customer facing role.

Just as if you dont like minor injuries maybe dont specialise and apply for a job working in that department!

Im with you OP, if a unit specialising in "minor injuries" is not the place for a....minor injury what on earth is it for?