To not know if I should be going to GP/A &E etc

[Freshbegin]

I had a dizzy spell last Friday and fell down the stairs top to bottom.
I was really busy at the time trying to get DC off on a trip so hobbled on.

Almost a week later and I've still quite a lot of pain including in my foot which is still swollen. Also pain in my hand and wrist.
Also pain elsewhere but that's more achey now so seems muscle based.

It's not an emergency because it's a week ago but presume doctor would not be able to do anything because of no X ray?

Help!

Could you ring the X-ray department and ask if they have a walk-in day center and of it requires a GP referral?

Do you have a walk in centre? They would probably be the best place.

You can still go to A&E, if you need an x ray they can sort it. I'm a radiographer and we regularly see people who had the fall days ago and only come in when they don't improve. Sometimes they will have significant injury. Go to A&E, they will advise you on managing the pain/injury

Don't go to A&E. Go to your nearest walk in centre.
I might just be tissue damage.

X ray via GP referral doesn't work in trauma situations. A radiographer doesn't diagnose from the image. They will send you to A&E if obvious injury but they can't advise on care.

It's not just about ruling out fracture, there may be soft tissue injury, certain bandages/splints that may help or do more harm. A trauma Dr or nurse is trained to do this and can also decide whether the dizzy spells need investigating also.

A&E is the best service in your situation.

I'm not sure our nearest walk in centre hasn't closed tbh. Off to look!

Thanks

Do you have a minor injuries centre? Our so fab for things like this.

Minor Injuries is better, walk in centre will be a waste of time unless in a hospital that has X ray access

my local walk in has an xray machine and isn't at a hospital.

I work in a walk in centre (nurse practitioner). I would gladly see you for your swollen and sore bits and X-ray as needed, but I would send you to A&E for investigations into the dizzy episode

@Sewrainbow our local walk in centre is based within the A&E dept at the hospital so guess it would also qualify as minor injuries.

The hospital are quite good in the sense that they ask you to fill out a form then they make the decision as to which department you go to (walk in / A&E) but this is a very new system.
You can still also ring 111 and book an appointment with the walk in clinic.

Absolutely the point I was making was a walk in centre with access to X ray and those xrays being evaluated by an appropriately trained person is what is needed here. Not as in our area where the patient would be sent back to GP for results and no care being given at the time to the patient .

Local minor injuries department. Gp can’t x Ray. It’s not serious enough for a&e. Minor injuries does exactly as it’s name suggests :)

We have a local MIU that is run by a nurse, but you can get X rays done there and sometimes it's quicker than A & E.

Gp could look at it and send you to ACCIDENT & emergency if needed. Your choice

I would suggest urgent care or minor injuries as a starting point. They are generally twinned with A&E depts in my experience so if they thought you needed it they can send you over there. My local hospitals all have an Urgent Care Centre alongside A&E.

That's an A&E job. It's an accident and your foot is still swollen a week later.

Lots of minor injuries don't have X-ray facilities.

I know minor injuries is definitely closed where we are. We don't really have a hospital locally anymore. We did have with A and E and everything else but now It's like a health care centre which does outpatients appointments. I think the only wards there now are mental health.

There's an A and E in the other town but it's two buses away and I don't want to waste their time.
The walk in centre coming up on search is ten miles away.

I think I'll hobble on till weekend and see if my Dad can drive me to minor injuries!

@Freshbegin please don't just put up with it as you could do more damage and cause more trouble for yourself in the long run
Definitely best to get checked, especially with the dizziness

I'm agree with newmum you had a collapse and fell down a flight of stairs and have injuries. Walking on your foot could be causing further damage, you might have a hairline fracture.

I'm pretty stoic but an injury with swelling a week later needs to be seen. Your GP can refer straight to X-ray so that may be a better option

You could always try nhs24 (or whatever it’s called now) for advice on where best to go in your area. The city I used to live in had minor injuries, which was great for this sort of thing, but my current city doesn’t. So it is really area dependent what the right answer is. I wouldn’t wait until the weekend if you can help it though.

I'd go to a minor injuries unit for something like this