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 I was in that much pain and couldn't get a GP appointment my next call would be to NHS 111 (or online) - they can make GP/clinic appointments far sooner and you won't just be dismissed. The point of the service is to take the pressure off A&E

It was at this point we realised OP isn’t in that much pain.

As the others have said, If it were that bad you wouldn’t care where you went or who the hell saw you.

I’m sorry your in pain and sorry you were treated like that.
But YABU to tell others not to go. I personally think you needed a more thorough exam- an internal ultrasound perhaps, I don’t know. But I’m sorry you are suffering OP.

They’re probably angry because they’ve been drowning in accidents and emergencies and it’s annoying the service is being overburdened by GPs not servicing their patients properly.

Also A&E staff will now be working their bollocks off with these cases while GPs take three day weekend.

I’m sure the doctor wasn’t attacking you personally, just at the end of their tether.

As for std clinic I've sat in one holding a friends hand. No-one stared at me, neither of us felt unclean, my friend needed a test I was there for support.

@Miriad maybe you need to make a complaint about the way you was spoken to in this situation, coming on here and suggesting not to go to A&E when experiencing pain is not the way unfortunately.

im sorry to say this aswell.. a lot of the time in my area anyway (I have a friend who works in our local A&E) she often tells me 90% of the time.. it’s the GPs who advise patients to go to A&E.. someone literally had an ingrown toenail and was advised to go to A&E by there GP!

a lot of the time I think it comes down to common sense, however, pain could mean absolutely anything and if left can sometimes become something more serious so the doctor you saw.. is wrong, pain may not come across as an “accident” or “emergency” if this is what you’ve been told they really shouldn’t be in the job and no wonder the NHS is on its knees.

pain could mean any number of things.. people with appendicitis have pain? Should that mean they should “wait for there GP” or is that not considered an emergency?

pain can sometimes lead to an emergency.. so there wrong to tell you to not attend A&E with pain, absolutely ridiculous.
something needs doing with the GP surgery’s aswell, not being able to get appointments, advising people with relatively minor issues to attend A&E.. people pay there national insurance for a reason, so I would be less than impressed if I could t get a doctors appointment for two weeks and being shouted at for needing to see someone! Attitudes need to change.

i hope your feeling better soon OP however this is again something that you should put a complaint In about.. if your in pain then yes obviously if you can’t see a doctor within a certain timeframe obviously you head down to A&E to prevent anything more serious happening, advising people otherwise is not right.

Was in severe dental.pain to the point I was up all night and only relief was holding ice water on it, but can't sleep with a mouthful of water! Emergency dentist said it was too difficult an extraction so referred me to nhs dental surgeon...who had a 6 week wait list. Impossible. So got the credit card and paid 250 to have it out privately. Is there any way you could do that op? At least to get diagnosed?

Yep our surgery has 11 GPs, last Monday there was one on duty. The surgery was empty. Our pharmacy busy. Three nurses in the surgery have quit, that's 50%.

Someone somewhere is taking the Mickey now at our surgery.

111 provides 24/7 GP cover over the 3 day weekend. Largely staffed by GPs. Why do people still peddle this absolute bullshit. But keeping believing and treating GPs like shit. No wonder they're leaving in droves.

Nobody should be asking for or giving medical advice online. Even a medical professional wouldn't do that as without full details and the persons medical records its dangerous. People need to use their own common sense.

This happened to me recently. I had uterine bleeding like I’ve never had in my life as bad as that. Had to go to go to A&E as I knew I would lose consciousness if I didn’t as there was too much blood loss for it to be ok.

Bizzarely I wasn’t in pain at all but getting weaker by the hour. So off I trot and I was seen pretty fast and mow and behold I needed a transfusion. So I completely agree that the lady’s life you are referring to was saved. Had she not gone she would have bled to death no doubt.

Lives have been saved on this forum. So I don't agree.

I am sorry op was treated like this. But anyone in severe pain or who is really unwell is entitled to go to A&E. A friends daughter had a really bad period couldn’t see GP. She was so weak after 4 days they went to A&E and the child heart was under strain and she needed a blood transfusion. She could have died if she had stayed at home. I would rather be shouted at than die!

My friend had similar symptoms to you. She suspected UTI but results from GP came back clear. Didn't get better and she went to drop in sexual health clinic in desperation. They did a test and immediately found it was a UTI. Could you get the test done again??

My surgery has 6 GPs. None of us work "full time " because the job is so absolutely fucking unbearable. Though 3 days "part time" is usually a 50hrs week for a partner. At anyone time usually someone is on leave. Yes we are allowed leave. The last month we had one doctor on compassionate leave and one on sick leave. Shock horror doctors are people too. We can't get or afford locums.
So after the last bank holiday we had 2 doctors for 15000 patients. All behaving like entitled demanding arses. Guess how long the rest of us will last.

That’s a really bizarre response from @Miriad

Sexual health clinics do many services like blood tests for Hep C / HIV / Hep B than can be caught in other ways than sexually.

The staff and patients in them are fine.

That’s a bit of a daft attitude, Op.

Do you actually believe that as most people when it turned out to be nothing will be to embarrassed to admit it so lie. Also if people are that seriously unwell I'm sure they will figure out soon enough they need emergency care. Nobody is going to sit at home and bleed to death because random people on the Internet told then not to go.

Our Gp does not do urgent appointments. Every request is firstly a telephone appointment with a GP who decides if you need to be seen or if you can be treated from that. If you do need to be seen it is quick eg same day. I was seen 20 months ago after a telephone appointment and I had 14 months of follow up appointments every 6 weeks, with my GP- each preceded by blood tests, and medication tweaks and other bits and pieces until my condition was stable again. This was followed up with a final series of blood tests and results telephone appointment to confirm I now need just yearly monitoring. I thought it was excellent. The surgery however was like a ghost town. Lots of people sitting in offices on their computers, with doors propped open The door titles say things like 'Practice Nurse' (3 of these) , 'Advanced Nurse Practitioner', 'Healthcare Assistant' , 'Physiotherapist', 'Counsellor', 'Pharmacist' 2 of these. 5 GPs , 3 are part-time. I never saw another patient during those visits.

Except you don’t. All the tests are clear.
the sexual health clinic here does lots of gynae/bladder/menopause. And anyway if anyone saw you, they’d be there too?

just to add I’ve been to my gp twice in the last 5 months in pain with an infection and they’ve got me an appointment in the hour - but I go in to make this.

pharmacies can also asses uti, or an urgent care centre.

youve had all the tests, you’ve been assessed - what was a and e supposed to do?

Amazing they must all have been playing candy crush and you were their only patient.

Can you go and see a private GP? It’s about £60 here and you get a same day or next day appointment.

You’re being extremely judgmental btw by thinking you’re too good for a sexual health clinic. If you’ve ever had unprotected sex you should have had a full STI screening. You can’t be in that much pain if you can’t bring yourself to go to the sexual health clinic who would be able to treat you for a UTI. You could have been treated 3 weeks ago if you got over yourself.

I've been told more than once, by the GP
receptionist, to go to A&E.

I think so.

Well said!
As Pp have said Sexual health clinics deal with a broad spectrum of issues.

@Miriad

That sounds like interstitial cystitis or urethral syndrome. I sympathise because I had the latter. It feels like cystitis but it isn't and it doesn't show up as bacterial.

First aid measures are drinking loads of bland milky fluids and water and avoiding acidic food like tomatoes. No fruit juice or wine. I usually dunk an Earl Grey teabag twice in hot water and have it with milk - it doesn't taste great but it is something. Take indigestions antacids or some of those alkalinising sachets which taste vile. I have an occasional flare up and I can usually get it under control in a day or two. During a flare up, I make sure after urinating to tip a jug of water over my bits to try to stop the burning feeling.