To think this is what happens when receptionists are the ones who decide whether or not you actually *see* a GP? (Ear infection)

[lCantHearYou]

Wednesday last week- woke up with an intense pain in my left ear, and assume I’ve just jammed my ear plug in a bit too far, but over an hour later the pain is still there and I can’t hear out of that ear, so I ring the GP surgery.

The receptionist, based on no medical expertise whatsoever, asks what the problem is and unilaterally decides that all I need is a telephone appointment. The GP she’s scheduled the call with is well known in our community for not doing face to face appointments if she can help it and generally having the attitude of just wanting to get you off the phone as quickly as possible.

Later that morning, GP call. I explain that I’ve been having this very intense pain for several hours now that paracetamol isn’t really touching, my ear is ringing very loudly and all external sound is very muffled and barely audible.

She decides over the course of the 3 minute call that since I’m recovering from a cold I’m probably just a bit congested, tells me to take some Sudafed/other decongestant and paracetamol and it should right itself in a few days.

I start alternating pseudoephedrine, paracetamol and ibuprofen, but the pain wakes me in the night every night.

Thursday evening DH, the DC and I travel up to PILs house.

Friday morning, DH and I leave for a long weekend abroad (on the Eurostar, thank god we didn’t fly or I’d probably have at least one ruptured ear drum).

By Friday evening the pain and hearing loss has now spread into the right ear as well. Spend the whole weekend in pain and practically deaf, which kind of spoils things somewhat.

Monday evening, we all get home. 3:00 am I wake up in so much pain I can’t keep still, DH wakes to the sight of me sitting upright, rocking back and forth with my hands clamped over the back of my head. He calls 111 who schedule a phonecall with a Dr… who rings back 3 and a half hours later and says, sounds like an infection, I can prescribe antibiotics or you can just wait and see your own GP. I opt to see my own GP, so 111 Dr puts in notes that I need a face to face appointment.

So we’re back on the phone to the surgery, to the receptionist who’s halfway through saying “I can schedule a phonecall…” when I tell her about 111 Dr’s advice to seek a face to face appointment. Then she relents and schedules one with a different GP to the one I spoke to the week before. At the actual appointment, this GP barely needs to glance in my ears before saying it’s a severe infection, inner ears are very sore and red, lots of pus and gunk and, in her words, “looks incredibly painful”.

I’ve now been on amoxicillin and cocodamol (which I’m alternating with ibuprofen) for 5 days now. I can still barely hear a thing beyond the very loud ringing and the sound of my own pulse throbbing in my ears. All external sound is very muffled and distorted. If I wait too long between taking pain meds I fucking know about it… I’ve taken to sleeping with the cocodamol under my pillow so that when (not if) the pain wakes me in the night I don’t have to grope around on my bedside table to find them. Part of my job involves being on the phone, sometimes for hours at a time, so I have to jam my earphones right into my ears and turn the volume up full, and by the end of my shift (I work very late at night) I’m doubly exhausted from the effort of straining to hear anything.

AIBU to think that if, on that first day, the receptionist or indeed the GP had paused for a moment and thought “hmmm, intense inner ear pain, badly affected hearing, maybe get her in so we can see if there’s an infection”, then I could have started on antibiotics that day and at the very least the infection would likely have been contained to one ear and might even be starting to get better? As it is the receptionist didn’t bother, the GP didn’t bother, and instead of getting better it got considerably worse, the antibiotics are making fuck all difference and I’ve now had almost two weeks of intense pain and hearing loss for no good reason? And AIBU to be pretty pissed off about it?

Sorry for the twilight rant… I’ve just woken up feeling like the back of my skull is being squeezed. Again.

I hope you feel better soon. I agree, they should be offering face to face appointments for things like this where they they need to examine you.

Slightly off-topic, but I would be looking into headphones rather than earphones for work! Especially when you have an active ear infection, but possibly all the time if you're on the phone for potentially hours in a day. Earphones will be more likely to introduce bacteria into your ear and also compact the ear wax.

I never thought I'd stick up for a gp receptionist because i dont agree they should be re directing patients to different medical professionals, without medical training and without the patients notes to know the patients history,however in this case the receptionist did give you a gp appointment so the only person to blame is the gp for refusing a f2f

My GP surgery is similarly useless, with the receptionist seemingly trying to avoid anyone having a physical appointment with the doctor at all costs.

I now tend to just wait until after hours, and phone 111 instead. They normally then quickly get me an emergency GP appointment at the local hospital. Much quicker and easier.

I am really sorry you had to suffer this.it really isn't the receptionists fault.she put you in touch with a doctor which is her job done.
I think some of this is on you for notphon8ng the doctor back again when it took a turn for the worse

Same, it seems like it's essential now to have private medical aid. My dh needed a heart scan for a chronic issue, wait time was 6m +. We went private, from scan to consult to diagnosis to medication it took 7 days!!!

You are blaming the receptionist but it's the GP who should have seen you. The receptionist has been told to offer a phone appointment. Most things can be dealt with by phone . That saves a lot of time.
Also you should have rung back the next day if it was worsening

The most likely cause of ear pain in the context of a head cold is congestion. The vast majority of infections are cured by the body's own defences. Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem. Receptionists follow protocols when allocating appointments. The GP should have told you that her plan is to wait and see (nothing wrong with this) and advised you to ring back if symptoms get worse, and to advise you they may.

Why did you go away for the weekend if you are in intense pain?
You could have followed up with dr the next day if your symptoms didn’t improve, you also had the opportunity to get antibiotics a day earlier from 111. Sometimes it really looks like people want the nhs to spoon feed them, the initial telephone appointment doesn’t appear to be the problem here.

It's not the receptionists fault.

You spoke to a doctor and they decided you didn't need antibiotics yet. The fact that you've been on them for several days now with no improvement tells me that you maybe didn't need them in first place.

The pain you describe (along with muffled hearing) screams wax impaction to me. You wear ear plugs and "jam earphones into your ear everyday" - I've only ever had ear problems when I've used ear plugs as they push the wax down and cause blockages.

Have you tried softening the wax with ear drops?

I would have focused on the hearing difficulties. Saying forcefully "I can't hear well enough to communicate properly over the phone right now, I need to speak to someone in person."

Good grief, I've never seen anybody so overdramatic about an ear infection.

The variation must be huge across the NHS- our practice is brilliant. I’ve never not been able to see or speak to a GP the same day. I’ve done online queries that are responded to quickly and often treatment prescribed over that. When DC was ill recently they saw them first thing, texted throughout the day asking for updates, booked a follow up the next day.
I don’t disbelieve these stories- it’s horrendous. I’ve had incredibly motivated friends who’ve tried everything. Ultimately they are businesses and patients need to vote with their feet and move to another. I appreciate if you’re in a small town with limited options it’s hard but we are in a city suburb and people have high expectations as many practices have risen to meet these.
Every public service from education to health to travel needs complete overhaul. It’s depressing.

Our triage system works brilliantly. Our ANP will be faced with around sixty people to assess, treat and redirect on Monday. If patients were allowed to book appointments at will for what they consider 'urgent', you'd have several days wait to be dealt with rather than several hours.
Our f2f clinics are rammed and two of our nurses handed their notice in to retire early last week. When the last one went we had one applicant for her replacement. My other colleague has one year to go and I have four. Another staffing timebomb no one seems to realise.

yes I voted YABU for this reason- the receptionist gave you an on the day appt and it was the gp who chose not to see you or prescribe.

the nhs website does say most ear infections clear up on their own as well so a couple of days wait and see is not completely unreasonable either.

Agreed 😀

I’m sorry to hear this OP, you didn’t receive the right care and should been seen. I have to say though I’m a big fan of telephone appointments as a first step. Our practice is happy for to come in after than initial assessment and if you said you want to be seen in person they’d see you. That’s how it should work. The NHS is in a real mess but my GP practice is excellent. I moved from a really bad practice down the road and there is such a stark difference. That really highlights the problem as whether you get a good service is so hit and miss. I live in London so I can easily find an alternatives and even have a choice of hospitals at hand. I really feel for this those in more rural communities who have no choice.

You did read that the OP has pus and gunk in her ears?
What a stupid post.

I do agree with this, whilst they clearly are highly trained and experienced, we know our bodies and our pain thresholds.

I had a similar experience recently where someone called me to triage my symptoms and tried to send me to a pharmacist for an ear spray.

I knew the pain wasn't actually my ear itself (they told me it was referred pain) and had a pretty good idea that I needed antibiotics so I politely pushed back and explained I wasn't willing to risk a pharmacy visit on a Friday afternoon when they are likely to tell me to see my GP anyway over a weekend.

I saw a GP and got my prescription.

@lCantHearYou I don't think you've had a good service at all but I do think you needed to be more proactive. It's hard to do when you're busy and feeling shit but you'd have been getting treatment far more quickly if you had.

This is true. I previously had an ear infection starting up and left it a day or two to see if it would clear, which it didn't. My GP was then happy to prescribe antibiotics over the phone when I explained the course of symptoms. Also you had the chance to get antibiotics over the phone from the 111 doctor? I don't know why you didn't take them then to be honest.

Ear infections can be horrendously painful, don't be so rude.

CanI just say....what do you think happens if you go private and have an emergency?

Yep that's right. NHS A+E !

I cant understand why its the receptionists fault the first GP didnt ask to see you on hearing your symptoms.

I agree. No idea why you left it so long.

I also can’t see how it’s the receptionists fault. When you spoke to the doctor if she would of thought it was worth seeing you then she would of asked you to come in.
She never. It’s on the GP for not booking you in for a face to face. The GP agreed with the receptionist.

This.
Totally agree the first GP did a poor job but utterly baffled why you are blaming the receptionist.

In my GP surgery all appointments for new concerns are dealt with by same day GP phone triage in the first instance, and if they decide they need to see you in person they get you not.
Works very well.