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.

Severe UTI type pain and burning. I’m at risk of losing my job, haven’t slept properly for a month because the pain is so bad I can’t fall asleep till I literally pass out. My 80yo mum is trying to look after DC because I can’t even get up and sit on a chair, I have to lie in bed with my legs open. Tests are all clear for STDs, BV, thrush, UTI, etc. Bloods are normal. Antibiotics and thrush meds haven’t worked.

Op - Your treatment at A and E was not acceptable .. I feel you’ve been badly mistreated .. severe pain that reduces you to tears IS an emergency as the cause of the pain is unknown .

As for your GP , you need to put in a complaint because leaving you to suffer like that is disgusting …

on that note it’s not fair to tell people not to go to a and e … it’s true that you won’t get quicker referrals.. however if you are seriously ill it might just save a life .
12 years ago .. 111 called an ambulance for me after I called for advice regarding an infected finger .. which was swollen up , turning black and I was in agony with ..Ud seen my gp earlier who had just given me antibiotics …..I felt embarrassed when the ambulance turned up .. but what I didn’t know was that I was seriously ill with sepsis and my consultant said I’d have died in the night had I not gone to hospital .. I had several surgeries and took a year to recover ..

This.

Get a form for medical care when on holiday. Get someone to drive you. It will be tough. Arrive in France, go to A&E and get full medical treatment immediately.

They did

A wild guess, but could it be a kidney stone, @Miriad ?
Only suggesting this as a woman I met was looking after a dog who was crying in pain ( dog sitter) and peeing everywhere while she was arranging OOH vet ( at night) and the poor dog passed a kidney stone the size of a pea.

It was agony for the poor dog.(Female) small breed.

Has anyone mentioned interstitial cystitis to you?

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/interstitial-cystitis/

You can't go on like this - you need proper help, even if that's only proper painkillers until you can see your GP.

Give d-mannose a try - it can help to reduce bladder irritation.

Which hospital was it? Is there another one you can try?

The thing is pain in and of itself isn't an emergency. The cause of the pain, though, could well be an emergency. So the doctor was right.

I think you should call 111 again and tell them what happened in A&E and insist on an emergency GP appointment, maybe it will work

Otherwise if you give your general location maybe people can suggest additional options? eg if anywhere near London the Urgent Care Centre at Guy's Hospital is terrific

Also you say STDs ruled out but was that just a couple swabs from the nurse? If so I would go to a proper GUM clinic they will consider a much wider range of things

The doctor might have been "right" but that doesn't mean they get to be horrible to a patient.

And severe pain can absolutely be an emergency - it can affect your blood pressure/breathing/can result in shock.

Also you can see private GPs for £50 now in some places, I know you say you don't want to pay, but surely it's cheaper than losing your job

In my area 111 can make you an appointment with an on call GP

In my area you just get another nurse 😩

@Miriad which area? I'm sorry you're feeling so rubbish but you need to really start advocating for yourself. (God knows it's hard-I'm not being unsympathetic but sometimes you have to be the squeeky wheel to get help.)

https://dronline.uk/v2/gp-video-consultation/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwu8uyBhC6ARIsAKwBGpTPFR2YdFOnKYfjbezIAKydJJLc25JEcPqK4o2pkXWBgE-1tXpzy-waAlaPEALw_wcB

May be worth looking into?😊

Thanks. An online consultation won’t help when I need my vagina examined. It seems impossible to see a GP in person!

Yes, I absolutely get that. The doctor was bang out of order. I was just clarifying that the doctor, while rude, wasn't wrong.

Have you tried a sexual health clinic?

Did you see my post about the cystis?

Giving a video appointment a try rather than suffering can't hurt, if you have the money. At least you're going to get to speak to a GP who may be able to give you a decent painkiller until you can get to see your own GP.

Aren’t they full of people who sleep around? What if someone saw me!

Okay, starting to think you're on a wind up now.

Good luck, @Miriad

I'm out.

So if the paracetamol worked, just take two every four hours up to the maximum daily dose. If the pain is still bothering you, take ibuprofen at equal intervals between, and pester your GP surgery for an earlier appointment.

I’m not kidding. I don’t want to be seen at an STD clinic because there’s a stigma attached. I don’t have an STD, I have a UTI or something.

GUM clinics aren't just for STIs. They can be really helpful with gynae/bladder stuff too. You're being daft about someone seeing you too - you're dismissing every suggestion but claim to be in agony? If I was suffering that badly I'd go wherever I could for potential help!

So MNers didn’t advise you to go to A&E, it was 111?
And you start a thread to berate MN?

In your shoes I would be turning up at the GP practice prepared for a long wait, ask to speak to the practice manager, be clear that you’re staying put until you’re seen because you’re in intolerable pain. Squeaky wheel and all that.

I was also going to suggest sexual health (I work in that field!).

It is not just for ‘people who sleep around’, we see all kinds of people for all kinds of things. We can probably help you but the onus is on you to put your prejudices aside and come through the door for help, I’m afraid. We are probably better placed to examine you intimately seeing as that is our speciality, rather than wait two weeks to see a GP who might have had a bit of urology or gynae training somewhere along the way. However, it is your choice.