To be pissed of with local NHS services

[Backofbeyond50]

Now I am probably being unreasonable and entitled but I am in pain so please bear with me.
My annoyance is two fold really. The first is the way our local GPS are continuing to diagnose or attempt to diagnose stuff by phone call and dodgy photos. This has in recent times resulted in mistakes so this week I took a 20 mile round trip to the nearest walk in centre. Upon arrival it looked like four people were in front of me. What I didn't realise was that everyone with certain symptoms were waiting in the car and being treated outside. After waiting 2 hours with no warning it may be this long I approached the receptionist who gave me why the hell are you bothering me vibes. Bearing in mind I had been sat there in a mask for two hours and I am asthmatic I didn't feel I could wait much longer.
My other issue is I suffer with a particularly nasty skin condition in my vulval/vaginall area. When I get a flare I am in agony. The local NHS long ago stopped prescribing bath emollients so I have to buy those at at nearly £10 for a small bottle. In the last 3 years they stopped prescribing the moisturising ointment too. This isn't so bad as a tub costing about £12 lasts a year. They still prescribe for dds eczema but that will stop once she is 18.
Yet I have relatives who basically get a couple of shower gels or bath additives and all the ointments they need every month.
I know there are bigger issues re thr postcode lottery to worry about but AIBU to be disappointed that I have a horrible potentially pre cancerous skin condition to which I get virtually no assistance. I even rang the surgery on Friday and they booked a telephone triage as per usual but they didn't even ring back.

Incidentally when they ring back I sm going to demand a f2 f apot as it has never been this bad before.

My GP has discontinued prescribing Balneum bath emollient, but replaced it with something else. I'll check what it is.

You poor thing. I wish I could help. Don't know what age you are but I definitely also benefit from Ovestin vaginal cream, and Doublebase.

YANBU. Hope you get it all sorted soon.

Thank you for replies.
O yes I forgot I also have to buy an internal moisturiser too ( replens )but I can't use that right now as so atrophic and sore.
Think I need to get a referral to a gynaecologist tbh.

I have been prescribed a hormone pessary thing for the atrophy but it doesn't really help much.

You're not being unreasonable at all. It's downright appalling that anyone is treated like this. It's near on impossible to see a GP personally, and booking appointments virtually isn't easy either. No access to urgent antibiotics, means going to A&E and spending six hours waiting. Every sympathy with you, no suggestions or advice, but fully agree with you - it's an appalling service these days.

Thank you @DOINGOURBIT

Funnily enough I found A and E brilliant when I had a fall last year. After the queue I was seen pretty quickly.
Yet the minor illness place they are encouraging you to use was worse than A and E.

So you're in pain, you have vaginal atrophy, and you're asthmatic? That's a lot do deal with.

Does your GP practice have an e-consult system or email access at all? I agree you need a referral to gynae.

They do an E consultation thing but it takes a couple of days to get a response..Going to ring 1st thing to chase.
My asthma isn't too bad thankfully.

Thank you @SpindleWhorl

Be prepared for a wait for gynae. I’ve just had an appointment through a whole year after the referral was made

Wow @ImNotDancing that is a long wait. Not really surprised though.

@Backofbeyond50

I have been prescribed a hormone pessary thing for the atrophy but it doesn't really help much.

I had similar but had a really good specialist nurse overseeing me use them for a few months.

The pessaries really work but you have to use them every day for weeks, then if it's atrophy use them three times a week after.

I was told using them every day until you are feeling better is also reasonable. They are such a small localised dose.

The thing I found that helped is depositing the pessaries closer to the vaginal entrance rather than deep up inside. This way the skin that's atrophying gets the most oestrogen.

I think I would have given up with them as not working if I'd followed the directions given by my GP.

That is really helpful as I have been inserting them quite high up.

Also told every day 2 weeks than 3 times per week.
Obviously not enough as so atrophic to start with.

I agree that for best results, use the pessary/Ovestin/whatever frequently, including near the entrance to the vagina and at the urethral opening and on or near labia.

Thank you everyone.

Update had a f2f appt such as it was. I mean really! Did you put cream on? Yes. Is the white the cream?
Err no! It the poxy skin condition I am consulting you about. Not exact words but you get the idea.
Anyway referral going in and tbh still don't know whether it needs an antibiotic cream or. Ot for tge cut bit. Think I will as I have some

The cut bit

NHS is shit and you deserve better.

I've been waiting 2 years for "urgent" treatment and suffered irreversible damage due to being left untreated. Does anybody in the NHS give a fuck about the harm their negligence has caused? Nope.

It's not covid, it's staff who don't give a fuck about patients' lives and couldn't find their way out of a paper bag if their own life depended on it (much less anybody else's life).

My GP tried phoning the hospital team with me listening on speaker phone so I know exactly how the so-called caring nurses speak about the patients they are failing when they don't know the patients can hear them.

The NHS is a scandal, not something to be proud of.

Sorry, sick of having the "glory to the NHS" narrative rammed down my throat when they've totally fucked my life up due to contempt and incompetence - yet it was all entirely avoidable if any of them had behaved like decent human beings.

They don’t prescribe bath emollients as people were getting them for their children but using them to wash cashmere

It is wrong when people abuse it burnt honestly there is no way I can manage without it during a flare an it is do expensive. £9 for 300mils which will probably last only 2 to 3 weeks.
Than I will be back to using the epaderm ointment which I also had to buy but is gross in the bath.

But not burnt