Doctors ignoring me for a year and now it's come to this

[Laurawharton]

Aibu to think I should go to a and e tomorrow (really don't want to as I know they are busy) or just face the fact that no one cares
Had a lump appear by my eye last Christmas. I thought it was a spot until it didn't move for 3 months so phoned the doctors who wouldn't see me face to face but told me that it would need to be off in a strict 6 month time scale if it's not gone by then. 6 months later I phoned to say it's still there and now larger. I had a different doctor who basically said 'and why are you telling us that go private it's cosmetic'. Phoned again to get a face to face as everyone was screaming cancer at me, finally got a face to face and told they don't know what it is but yeah go private to have it off or join a over 2 year waiting list.
Anyway about a month ago it grew big again so phoned them as I was concerned as it's so close to my eye and was starting to mess with my vision and give me headache and that side of my face kept going numb. They said they referred me but still heard nothing. Now it's the size of a golf ball red and angry closing up half my eye. Swollen both my eye lid and my under eye. Painful as hell I Carnt sleep don't want to eat, put it this way I was a size 16 now even size ten is a bit big on me. I Carnt sleep properly, people keep staring at me when I go out so I no longer want to leave the house. I saw the doctor again and all he said was he will send fresh pictures along to my referral.
I don't know what to do I'm scared I'm going to blind in one eye due to the pressure and I'm not sure how my face will now look after it's gone if they ever get round to it. How long can they leave me in this much pain.
Is it worth just going down a and e and seeing if they will do anything? my partner has already stopped me twice from taking matters into my own hands aka self removal. My thinking was if I mess up they will have to something, I know it's not the right thing to do but I'm so scared and in so much pain.

It is the GPs fault for not putting her on the list until it became so bad that it has become unbearable.

Not doing a proper investigation in the first place and fobbing her off saying it was cosmetic and to wait and see

My friend emigrated to a place with no free health care.

She worried when she had been there for only a few weeks and hadn’t taken out health insurance.

She said when she made the appointment it was a certain amount but that covered everything.

She said when she told the doctor what was wrong, despite English being his 2nd language she said he actually listened to her and understood perfectly what she meant.
He sent her for tests, lots and lots of tests. He tested for everything it possibly could be and gave her an appointment for a couple of days later.

He went through everything with her and that was it. Within 3 days it was all sorted and a week later she was better

if this was the NHS she would have seen her GP. Been told to see how things went and come back in 6 weeks

Made another appointment 6 weeks later
Told it was stress and to do some yoga

and come back in 6 weeks if things didn’t improve

In the meantime things could have turned worse.

Then 3 months after starting she would get an appointment where she would be sent for 3 tests at the most

And then another 3 test etc.

Or if one came back positive for something then that would be the diagnosis and despite other things not being right and only able to discuss one symptom at a time she would live her life with all sorts of niggles at best , never knowing exactly what was wrong and it would have cost the NHS more than the money it would have cost if she had been referred properly for all tests in the first place.

Demanding is the only thing the NHS understand - you tell them what you need or quite often you get nothing. You don't have to be rude, just speak up for yourself or your young ones.

I certainly agree that you need to strongly advocate for yourself and for others that you care about in dealings with the NHS. It really shouldn't be like this - how did we get here?

No it shouldn't. I feel as though the NHS do everything on the cheap, as little as possible and then I go private and they do as much as they can to make plenty of money out of the insurance companies. Medical professionals have their own agenda about my health and it has little to do with doing their best for me. Yes I've lost trust in them - all of them.

I’ve got a few things I would normally have contacted the gp about pre this balls up situation.
now I know I will probably have to wait half an hour to get through to a receptionist who will then tell me there are no appointments for the foreseeable.
if I do get one it won’t be a face to face. I will get told to upload pictures.
then I will get told to come back in 6 weeks and will have to start the whole procedure again.
my local urgent treatment centre. is now overrun with people On a daily basis because no one round here can actually talk to a gp
@Laurawharton I really hope you get this sorted . It is clearly not just cosmetic. I really feel for you.

For things like this it can be really useful to see a pharmacist. If there is one connected to your GP surgery especially. I had something similar and the pharmacist called the duty GP upstairs, I popped up so he could confirm and he sent the prescription down to the pharmacy.

Pharmacists cannot incise and drain abscesses.
I never understand some people's love of asking pharmacists for advice. All the ones I know are so up their own arse because they wish they were doctors and believe themselves to be just one grade below doctors.

Maybe because our Welsh government are telling us day after day to use the pharmacy staff rather than GP or hospital.

bcuhb.nhs.wales/news/health-board-news/record-number-of-people-supported-at-pharmacies-and-gp-surgeries-with-health-services-at-breaking-point/

And our health board @TheShellBeach

Go back 30 years and you'd never of gone into your doctors demanding shit.

30 years ago OP would have received treatment months ago and not been ignored. Even 10 years ago.

People's conditions are worsening because they're not seen in a timely fashion.

I rarely "demand" until all other avenues have been exhausted. Being a doormat when it's a medical issue can be detrimental to one's health.

Actually I went into my doctor and demanded 45 years ago. Because I had been left in agony for 4 years.

What my family and I have experienced going back 40,50,60 years is what people are experiencing now.

People used to think we were lying when we would come from the doctors with their ridiculous diagnosis.

Dgf had indigestion and a numb left arm
Diagnosis Stress and indigestion. Told to get Rennies from the Chemist

Dgf thought he was having a heart attack but the doctor said absolutely not.

7 hours later dgf was dead having had a heart attack

Dh went from 17 stone to 7.5 stone in a matter of months.

Diagnosis - Stress

Solicitor Friend diagnosed him- Type 1 Diabetes

Dh went every 2 weeks for 6 months because he has a pain in his lower stomach area and was constipated.

Diagnosis- Stress

Mine and dhs diagnosis- Bowel cancer
He was told not to frighten himself reading Dr Google (Fil died of bowel cancer so we knew the signs)

I have so many examples that have cost lives or ruined lives and no one will take responsibility for the devastation.

We see that bit of paper in a frame and expect to get someone who understands bodies and will listen to what you say.

Instead we get people who have bought into the rhetoric that the NHS has no money so get rid and put off spending anything and hope the patient drops dead Problem is that by putting off, things get worse not better and in the end cost more to put right.

No idea how people are qualifying to be doctors but my GPs surgery is filled with such incompetent people that there is a petition to close the surgery down

Well DH has been waiting over a week for a repeat script to be filled. So should he
a, insist on it
b. if he doesnt he will end up in A&E

So which would you prefer oh glorious worshippers of the NHS church.

I hope op comes back to update and all is moving forward positively.

I just find the gatekeeping to GPs is offputting and I have left problems too long because of difficulties accessing services easily.

We have to wait seven days for a repeat. This month it was 12 days and I had to wait for half an hour because it still hasn't been made up. The pharmacist who checks it was stuck on the phone with patients who needed advice because we're not supposed to overwhelm the doctors now, but use the pharmacy staff. Our pharmacy is now filled with different staff, who are working flat out making up prescription for delivery. Our neighbour and his wife who go out every day for lunch have their prescription delivered.

It's bloody madness, only the house bound need delivery system

i went to my local chemistry - you woul dnot believe how many prescriptions they have awaiting attention from the pharmacist.
there are masses of patients requiring prescriptions, not just me!

Friend of mine just went to get his diabetes prescription and his doc has forgotten to do it. It was supposed to be done on the 2nd and its now the 8th. Surgery has now sent it over to Boots and hopefully he will get it today But with Boots habit of sending prescriptions away to be filled we shall see.

And yet they moan when people end up in A&E

oh he is also on the waiting list for a knee replacement so his mobility is fucked
Good job he drives.

Some older people got medicine delivered during covid and have just never stopped it. Pharmacies push it heavily because they only need one qualified pharmacist overseeing other staff in the location dealing with the prescriptions. This frees up pharmacist time in pharmacies.

Does anyone complaining ( and I understand why you are complaining) link this to the lack of healthcare staff? Do you link it to the erosion of pay and conditions resulting in lack of retention of staff?

DH now has his meds They were sitting in Boots After the surgery had sworn blind THREE times that they had transferred them to the new pharmacy.

@Lapland123 And yet the same healthcare staff dont link it with the upsurge in people going to A&E and blame the public instead Empathy needs to go both ways

I also pay for my own Mini Pill and my own Nexium. Mini Pill is £19.75 every three months and Nexium is £10 to £13 a fortnight depending on whether you buy the branded one or an own brand.

Im not paying for the meds themselves What im paying for is the convienience and less stress.

After being pissed around over DHs stuff.............i rest my case.

Was hoping OP would update MN
Last post was when she was getting ready to go to A&E, ages ago
Hope it’s all OK now OP.

Gosh I think most of not all HCP have utmost empathy. Most need to use the services themselves. I already said I understand why people are complaining. It’s very clear why people then use A&E, I said to go there asap early in the thread.

I just don’t see any of this getting any better if the government can’t link pay and conditions, major pay erosion particularly, to the ever spiralling crisis in retention of HCP

I have had absolutely no choice but to reschedule a neurologist appointment. The next appointment they can do is Autumn 2024.
I said that I completely expected to wait. By that's not acceptable. Also said I was happy to see any consultant.
They told me they don't like to swap consultants. I poured out that the hospital have changed this appointment at least 3 times and it's been a different consultant on every letter. I work in the same hospital. I get the pressure. But it's ridiculous.