Stop telling people to go to A&E!

[Miriad]

I see it on here a lot. Someone is getting fobbed off by their GP and not getting diagnosed. So they get told to go to A&E, where they have the ability to do blood tests and urine tests and scans to figure out what’s going on.

I’ve been sobbing in agony for three weeks and my GP isn’t helping me, and I can’t get another GP appointment for a fortnight, so posters advised me to go to A&E.

I waited six hours only to get yelled at by an angry doctor, saying my condition is neither an accident nor an emergency. According to him I don’t need urgent treatment even if I’m crying with pain - because pain isn’t urgent. If I’m stable and not at risk then I need to go home and see my GP.

A&E can not be used to bypass a useless GP and access tests and scans. They will not diagnose you or refer you. Their job is to give you the minimum care to make you stable so you’re not at risk, then send you home.

So stop telling people to go there. Maybe in the olden days you could go there for help if your GP was rubbish, but not any more.

If you have been yelled at by a doctor when you are crying in pain, you need to formally complain.

Can you ring 111 for an urgent out of hours appointment? If no luck, I would present to a different a&e department. I guess you had no scan etc? Really sorry that you were treated like that.

You can’t see a GP if you turn up like that. Only a nurse. And the nurse has reached the limit of her ability to test and diagnose me. She said it’s beyond her, I need a GP but it’s two weeks for an appointment. Hence why I went to A&E - and got kicked out and told I have to wait for a GP, because I’m stable and pain isn’t an emergency.

I’m sorry you are in such pain.

I think you are misunderstanding the advice though. Advice to go to A&E for pain is not so you can bypass the GP for tests. It’s so urgent issues can be ruled out, and you can be given pain relief (because yes, severe pain is an emergency). I am surprised they didn’t give you pain relief though.

Don’t know. I’m not able to see a GP for two weeks.

In my view, someone who is in utter despair due to unbearable pain needs to be seen asap. If A&E is the only available option then so be it. Even if it is due to an ongoing issue, crisis point could have been reached and that makes it an emergency.

@Miriad

I think you need to call 111 and explain to them. They will hopefully get you an OOH appointment with a GP.

Does your GP offer on the day appointments for urgent matters? We can ring at 8:30 (and join a massive queue to get through), to potentially be triaged for a call back from a GP.

Our routine appointments are regularly booked up 5 weeks ahead!!

My dd was in severe pain recently, not life threatening but she has an ongoing medical condition which we thought was causing the pain. She insisted a&e wouldn't be able to do anything except give painkillers. I insisted she went and took her along, turned out she had severe pancreatitis and was admitted. Her only symptom was pain and they took her seriously and saw her quickly.
I'm sorry you had that experience but severe pain to the point you're in tears really does need checking out, no doctor should treat you the way they did

Can you make an appointment to see a private GP? Or go to a walk in centre if there is one?

You could try 111? I've seen many people who've rung them and 111 have managed to get them an appointment with their own doctors surgery much sooner.

To leave you in severe pain, unable to sleep, with no pain relief is not acceptable and not usual either.

I'm also surprised they didn't consider doing a scan in A&E to check there isn't something serious going on. Pelvic pain can be any number of things.

It sounds less like you did the wrong thing, and more like you were treated badly by the A&E doctor.
Our GP surgery, and the rest I have used, do indeed have around a 2 week wait for 'routine' appointments or non-urgent cases, but you can always phone on the day and be seen that day for an emergency/urgent issue.
It sounds like you're being let down by your GP and the doctor you saw at A&E. In your situation I'd be complaining about the doctor who shouted at you and demanding to be seen, crying in pain for as long as you have been isn't normal or something that can wait 2 weeks.

No. You can only get an on the day appointment with the nurse practitioner. If the problem is beyond her then she verifies that you’re stable and you have to wait a month for a GP appointment. They said I was lucky to get a cancellation in two weeks time.

Does your county have an out of hours service? Ours has an OOH unit alongside A & E that if you're not ill enough for there, they boot you round to see a GP and you can get appointments via 111. It's staffed by GPs and a nurse practitioner and runs from 6.30pm to 6am nightly and is open all weekend.

Have you tried 111?

Sorry but that's terrible advice. Just because some doctor in some A&E yelled at you - doesn't mean it's going to happen to anyone else. I've been going to my local A&Es for ages as the GP is absolutely useless and can't even do a blood test let alone anything more useful (also I can't even get through to reception as the phone waiting queue is always full). No one has ever yelled at me at A&E and they have been most useful.

Op if it feels like a severe uti are you weeing as much as you are drinking?

I work in acute medicine and I'm surprised they didn't do a scan of your bladder. Although if the root cause of your pain is known about perhaps that wasn't appropriate.

Severe pain is an emergency, especially pain that prevents you from sleeping or mobilising. I would echo pps in talking to pals if the Dr really did shout at you.

Also yes to getting an urgent ooh appointment through 111.

A&e is pretty full, and yes we are stressed beyond belief, but we still need to treat patients appropriately, even if that means signpost to a more appropriate service

So one doctor in your local A&E shouted at you, and now all Mumsnetters across the entire UK shouldn't advise anyone to go to their A&E, if they're in agony and crying with pain?

Unfortunately the way around it, in the absence of private healthcare, is to book a private GP appointment. Yes an appointment will cost you hundred quid but at least you get seen quickly.

@SusanSHelit yes I am weeing and drinking and taking paracetamol. The nurse practitioner at my local surgery saw me as an emergency and took swabs and urine tests and blood tests, which all came back clear. So that’s the limit of what she can do, I have to wait weeks to see a GP for a physical examination and further diagnosis. Hence why I went to A&E because the pain is so severe that I can’t stand it any longer, and I can’t be off work and not looking after my kids any longer. But I’m stable and apparently pain isn’t an emergency.

He said if you’re stable you should not be at A&E. Pain is irrelevant. The length of time you have to wait to see a GP is irrelevant. A&E is only for people who are at immediate risk.

Please make a complaint to your GP surgery and/or your local ICB about the waiting time for an appointment. A&E isn’t the right place to treat non-urgent issues but your GP should be providing that care and they need to be challenged if they’re not.

GPs should be assessing patients and providing appointments based on need rather than blindly assigning them like a normal queue. How they do that is up to them but it’s poor practice to make someone who is in debilitating pain wait weeks to see a GP who may just refer them for specialist care or further tests.

That’s great if you have the money. But we’re in the middle of a cost of living crisis. Many people can’t even afford food, never mind a private GP.

Sorry OP, but this is not good advice. If you are in chronic pain and the GP refuses to see you, A&E is a logical step.

However. First call 111 and stress the urgency of your symptoms and they should offer you an ooh appointment (I don't personally use 111 anymore as the service is appalling, but might work for you as it seems to vary by area)

Next, a strongly worded letter to the practice manager - I've had to do this before and demanded I was contacted ASAP with an appointment - which they did, with an apology 👍

If all else fails go to GP surgery upon opening and kick up a big fuss. I have also done this and was seen very quickly (it was a real emergency and I couldn't get through on the phone, and actually ended up with an ambulance to hospital where I was admitted).

Harsh times call for harsh measures, unfortunately! These days I refuse to be fobbed off with insufficient care/pain relief.

Pain in itself is not an emergency. But the cause of the pain could be.

OP, I get what the a&e doc said. but sometimes, we have to self advocate. I understand your Gp is shit too but you still have 111 as an option, there are walk in centres, a different a&e department. I would focus right now on the avenues where you could get help