ARGH.
Daughter has what is clearly a bad ear infection and possibly chest infection and is really suffering. Came home in quite a state after two weeks of university.
We can't get her seen by a Dr here because she registered with campus medical centre. 111 have recommended she is seen in person. Our Drs (with whom she has been registered for 10 years) won't see her, because she is no longer on their books.
We tried to get her chest seen to (advice on NHS website is to get a persitant cough checked after three weeks - she has had it 8) before she went to college. Our Drs would only do phone call, refused to see her in person and told her to wait three months. She now has infected sinuses, cough is worse and ears are infected and leaking and very painful. She has history of childhood ent issues, but been largely okay since adenoids, tonsils removed and grommits put in when she was small. She has had historically a small amount of hearing loss and I am worried this is now at risk again if left.
We have been told to go to A&E but this seems like utter madness to me. A waste of time for A&E staff and a delay potentially for people with serious emergencies and several hours of waiting, when there are four Drs (on the phone) and two nurses in our family surgery round the corner from our house.
Also kids at university are home for weeks. - how do they get seen if they are ill in the holidays? Do you always have to go to A&E?
AIBU to want a GP service that actually sees their patients? We are so supportive, always of the NHS, but the struggle to be seen is exhausting and hopeless. God knows how people are coping who don't have advocates and are really ill.
(and yes she should have gone to the Medical centre at college, but she has only been there two weeks and is just getting to grips with how everything works and they have a different but complex system for not seeing anyone, which I couldn't work out remotely. She also lost confidence when told just to put up with it for three months by our surgery on the phone call).
ARGH ARGH ARGH.