Or is the NHS just completely fucking broken?

[Saltandpepperpig]

Very early in pregnancy - 7 weeks, called my MW due to spotting and sharp unbearable pain down my left side. Reffered to local MLU as she was to busy.
MLU told me I need to get to A&E asap and get an emergency scan, cannot wait till Monday as they believe it's ectopic and I need to get scanned now .
Local A&E has been closed down so have to travel 30 mins to the nearest a&e.
Wait for FOUR hours in A&E after clearly explaining what I was there for, finally seen by a dr who calls the gyne (only one in the whole a&e for a 25 odd mile radius)
Gyne can't see me until Monday. Dr says he doesn't know anything about ectopic but hopefully it's not and come back on Monday.

AIBU to think this is a complete fucking joke? 6 hours in total from contacting my MW, 3 different places, a dr that didn't have a fucking clue, no gyne, no A&E depts.

I'm probably just ranting but I was so terrified being told I cannot wait until Monday, booking childcare etc to be told I must wait with no explanation or reassurance.

The funny thing is the dr said 'if you were here 1 hour ago we could have helped' I FUCKING WAS SAT IN THE WAITING ROOM.

I'm just stressed and hormonal so probably acting completely unreasonable and stupid but I hadn't realised how bad things have got and IMO that is bad.

Cross posted, I see you have managed to get through to someone better. Good luck OP, I'm sure it will l turn out to be a false alarm but better safe than sorry

I hope you get the treatment you need now .

Always better safe than sorry

Hope you can get seen at gynacology ward /early pregnancy unit tonight OP x

No, I've had a lot of experience of the NHS over the last year or so (for myself and a relative) and my experience has been first class. The only thing that has given me cause for concern is the junior doctors left to their own devices who don't always seem to know what they are talking about!

It sounds like you have had an unfortunate experience. Best of luck in getting to the bottom of what's going on.

That sounds promising, Salt, keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Hope you're in less pain now

OP, the way you have been treated is truly shocking. It sounds very similar to how a friend of mine was recently treated. She too was sent home from A&E under similar circumstances and had to call OOH to try to bypass A&E. Thank goodness she did. She is fine now but it could have been very different.

You're not in Bucks by any chance are you? Totally understand if you don't want to answer.

You've been treated appallingly, ecotopic pregnancy needs to be treated as a medical emergency. Been through similar myself, presented myself at GP's sent straight to hospital to EPU to have a scan and blood test. I sincerely hope you get the scan and tests you need op.

Good. Make sure they admit you tonight.

hope everything is ok op?

Glad you called 111. Please contact pals once you are able to and make a formal complaint. You have been treated appallingly

Absolutely write to your mp the closure of so many units is not ok and is putting massive strain on other services! However even in those circumstances your care was not acceptable! I'm glad you are now getting help through 111 but please also complain to PALS at the hospital you were first seen!

When you said shoulder pain too it brought back the thread of a pp who'd been robbed off (Charlotte) who had a dismissed ectopic :(
The NHS is being killed by a thousand cuts. Ante natal has been crap for a long time though. That can't solely be laid at one party :( But A&E is the absolute basic and if they can't train doctors to give primary care in A&E then it's a disaster. The guy may be inexperienced and have nobody senior to ask. Or he may be incompetent.
I hope you get assessed properly

Thinking of you this morning saltandpepperpig

Hope everything is ok

Thinking of you op, hope you got to the hospital last night or are there now. The more I think about the way that doctor treated you, the more angry I feel - definitely complain about him.

I really hope you are ok, OP and getting appropriate treatment.

As to the question 'is the NHS completely broken?' please take the time to watch the amazing documentary series, Hospital on BBC2 ( iplayer). The answer is, no, it's fucking amazing but desperately under resourced. Watching them swing into action after a terrorist attack was truly awesome.

I was also going to suggest you watch Hospital on BBC2, see it from the hospital point of view.
it is being broken by the government.

It is horrifying that a hospital big enough to have an A&E doesn't also have and obs & gynae reg on call, or a doctor with the sense to do a scan to eliminate an ectopic.

But this is because of 7 years of neglecting and underfunding the NHS, until it becomes so crap that no-one will miss it when it is abolished, or just withers away until it's all privatised.

Hope you're ok, OP.

Yes I think the NHS is broken OP. My dd is a final year medical student so working in various hospitals, many of her supervising consultants say the NHS is finished, it's too expensive, inefficient and people will have to start paying for their treatment and be penalised for missed appointments etc. Doctors aren't allowed to say so publicly though - it's a disciplinary offence. I hope you are OK.

I hope you're ok OP.

When this is all sorted, please contact PALS to lodge a complaint.

I say this as an gynae theatre practitioner, as an ectopic can be life threatening and should have been ruled out before the Dr sent you home.

Just read this and am shocked. Am hoping you're now getting sorted out. If not call the MLU back.
Hope all ok. X

Hope you're ok and getting seen op.

Pretty much the same thing happened to me 6 years ago. Had to wait a week for a scan. No emergency assistance available.

OP if it's any help: everything ended up being fine and the baby is now 5yo.

Just a quick update.

Dr called back and told me to go to a&e immediately. I was sent there and then sent up to the gynaecologist who called a&e herself to advise she was expecting me and to send me up there rather than see any dr in a&e.

She said that no one from gynaecology was ever called about me last night and they would have said to send me straight up if they did, she advised me to make as many complaints as possible against the dr who saw me in a&e. They sent me for an ultrasound which thankfully baby is healthy, beating heart and growing in the right place. There was mass by my left side where the pain is that further tests will be run but are not urgent at the moment.

Gynae examined me well and offered me an extra internal if wanted but not nessesary so I declined.

So thankful that everything worked out ok and the that baby is ok, I feel I can breathe again! The nurses Drs etc that I saw today all said that I did the right thing by coming back and the first dr was absolutely in the wrong.

Thanks so much for all of the support last night it was much needed and is much appreciated.

Go to another a&e. Even if you have to travel a bit