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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to go to A+E for a scan?

81 replies

ruledbyheart · 21/09/2011 13:23

Basically been bleeding (menstrally?) for 5 months and I've lost weight and I'm extremly tired, been to the doctors, the doctor I saw put through an URGENT refferal to hospital for an ultrasound as I keep getting sever pain in right ovary and she seemed very concerned and said appointment would be in a few days at most.

Rang the hospital today as I haven't heard anything and the soonest they can fit me in is october 17th, so I phoned doctor to get transferred to another hospital (I was asked which one I preferred in the first place) and she is on holiday until the end of next week so cant do it.

WIBU to go to the hospital complaining of the pain to get a scan done?
I'm very concerned now and I'm worrying myself sick over it?

OP posts:
gluttom · 21/09/2011 13:44

please just go - explain hx and that pain is worse today and you are very worried - probably nothing but you will feel better.

ripstheirthroatoutliveupstairs · 21/09/2011 13:44

YANBU. Do you have a gynae A+E anywhere near you? One of the wards I worked on was part casualty as well as being for gynaecological surgery and medicine.
Could be worth phoning the ward to ask. If not, go to ordinary a&e.

AKMD · 21/09/2011 13:44

Also, just saying but the 'worried it is cancer' tack will not necessarily get you far with the GP. I had an ultrasound that showed a large tumour in my abdomen but still had to wait 3 weeks for a CT scan, another 4 weeks to see a conultant, another 4 weeks to see another consultatnt, another 3 weeks after that to see yet another consultant and another 3 months for an operation to remove the tumour. I still don't know if it's cancer and have to wait 3 weeks for the results. I am Angry

timetosmile · 21/09/2011 13:45

Sorry for your symtoms, and that you are at your wit's end, by the sound of it.

But 5 months of a syptom is neither an accident or an emergency unless it has significantly worsened over the past day or so.

Yes, it may well be an 'urgent' case that should be dealt with faster that your current scan date allows, but that is really for you and your GP to decide between you.

Surely there must be an available emergency appt with another GP at your surgery this afternoon, even if you have to go down at 4pm and wait your turn?

There's a lot you haven't told us (and of course it's not our business!) your age, method of contraception, other problems eg thyroid disease, other medication, what your own GP found when he/she examined you....

Please go back to your surgery and make sure whichever Dr you see understands just how awful you feel and how worried you clearly are - they are in a far better position to assess and appropriately refer you than an A+E junior Dr.

And good luck.

loopylou6 · 21/09/2011 13:45

I went to A&E with a broken finger, your problems ensure that you adnbu. GO NOW.

timetosmile · 21/09/2011 13:47

Ok, sorry, typing so much I x-posted..still think GP is the way to go though...

PIMSoclock · 21/09/2011 13:49

Just cause you show up at a and e does not mean you will get a scan.
You will only be admitted to gynae if they assess that this is a surgical emergency. They won't scan and treat you in a and e, because they are not trained and don't have the facilities to do so.
Your gp can save you the trouble of waiting for hours and refer you to the SAME person in hospital for immediate treatment if you have any worrying features.
Phone and get an emergency gp appointment and you are more likely to get a good plan for investigation and treatment.
If you go to a+e and you don't need admission, there is not much else they can do, even the analgesia they can provide is limited.
A+e is not likely to solve this problem.

Original poster
ruledbyheart · 21/09/2011 13:50

Cannot even get emergency doctors appointment nothing for 3 days

OP posts:
GwendolineMaryLacey · 21/09/2011 13:51

I would go. It's not like you've been sitting on your arse for 5 months waiting for them to come to you. If the system isn't doing what it needs to do then you need to go a different route.

And for all the people saying go back to your GP, tell them how bad it is, blah blah, don't you think the OP might have already done that? They might be better than an A&E junior dr but an A&E junior dr is better than no one at all, which is the alternative being presented.

featherbag · 21/09/2011 13:51

Go to A&E if you must, but be prepared to wait a long time then be sent home to wait for your original appointment. What they probably WILL do is check your BP to make sure the bleeding hasn't caused it to drop to dangerous levels, and they may check your haemoglobin levels to make sure you aren't dangerously anaemic. In other words, they'll make sure nothing about your condition is immediately life threatening, categorising it as an emergency. Where I work this is all we would do, obviously you would receive treatment if hypotension or anaemia was discovered, but we simply don't have the facilities to carry out the scan you'd need. Can't speak for the department near you however, they may well do more or less than the above depending on their facilities and protocol. If it was me, unless I was feeling more unwell, I would book another appointment with the GP and try to get things hurried up that way.

Sidge · 21/09/2011 13:52

YABU. That's not what A&E is for.

Another GP in the practice can expedite your referral, it doesn't have to be the GP you saw.

animula · 21/09/2011 13:53

Can you not get the surgery to get a GP to 'phone you?

"Phone NHS Direct.

Is that true @ scans, PimsO'Clock? My ds was given an emergeny scan in one instance and in another instance going through A and E meant he was booked in for another scan at an earlier date than if he had gone through the GP.

(Btw - I genuinely have zero knowledge of anything medical.)

PIMSoclock · 21/09/2011 13:53

They should be able to give you an on the day appointment if you phone first thing.
Failing that ask for one of the GPs to phone you at the end of surgery and get them to chase the URGENT referral and possibly leave you a prescription for ponstan tabs

HowAboutAHotCupOfShutTheHellUp · 21/09/2011 13:54

YANBU. You say you are 'worried sick' and I'm not surprised, so would I be.

Get yourself to A&E and tell them you are in pain. They will have to do the scan then and there. I've had a lot of health issues over the past year and have found that things get sorted a lot quicker if I'm assertive and proactive.

Mumwithadragontattoo · 21/09/2011 13:56

That's ridiculous. I think in those circs you should go to A&E.

PIMSoclock · 21/09/2011 13:57

Animula
It depends what the scan is of/for
A+e consultants can do abdominal ultrasounds to look for signs of trauma/bleeding.
CT scans on head and body can be done in life threatening emergencies to aid diagnoses.
Gynae ultrasounds/internals require different training and are not performed by the a and e department
Hth

nickelbabe · 21/09/2011 13:58

I would also go to A&E - it's not normal, and if you are losing blood, then you could also be at risk of anaemia.
You need a scan, and it is an emergency now.

animula · 21/09/2011 13:58

PIMS - thank you. Yes, ds' scan was CT (& the other, which we declined) - I can see why that might be an A and E thing. Smile

nickelbabe · 21/09/2011 13:59

Pim - fair point.
The a&e should refer her on triage to Gynae.

featherbag · 21/09/2011 14:00

shutthehellup, this isn't necessarily about how assertive and proactive the OP is, she may just be about to waste 4 hours of her life, at my A&E they wouldn't 'have to do the scan then and there' because there is no scanner! Of course there's emergency access to one if needed, but 'emergency' in this context would mean 'likely to be bleeding to death internally after a blow to the abdomen', not 'has been bleeding for 5 months'.

PIMSoclock · 21/09/2011 14:00

Folks you can tell this poor girl to go to A+E all you want.
They will struggle to add anything to her care just now. If she has had it for 5months and there is no surgical emergency they will not do or add anything! It needs to be chased appropriately chased by the gp who has access to all the medical details and investigations to date

gluttom · 21/09/2011 14:03

Where are you OP - is it a big hospital? I'm sure they will scan you if you are seen before 5 and then you will have an idea of whether an urgent follow up is needed.

featherbag · 21/09/2011 14:03

Meant to add, it sounds likely that the 'scan' in question may be a transvaginal ultrasound scan, which I have never heard of being available in any A&E (happy to be corrected on this!). Even in cases of potential miscarriage, we have to refer to an early pregnancy unit to have this done, and appointments are often several days away. I hate having to tell people who've been told by various relatives/friends that if they go to A&E and demand a scan now they'll get one that it just isn't going to happen as we physically do not have the necessary equipment!

GwendolineMaryLacey · 21/09/2011 14:04

So she should sit back and do nothing? Yep, that'll work.

patindahat · 21/09/2011 14:05

ruledbyheart it may be useful to phone your consultants secretary and explain your position in the hope that may be able to offer you help.