To think this is unnecessarily complicated NHS

[NHSNonsense]

So today I've hurt my eye, nothing super terrible hopefully but my vision is fuzzy and I'm seeing some spots.

Work advised me to go to eye casualty to have it check out properly. So off I went to our nearest hospital to do just that but upon arrival I was told they don't accept walk ins. Fair enough my fault for not checking so I was directed to A&E.

After waiting in A&E for a while I was told I needed to go to eye casualty but they couldn't transfer me so I would need to ring 111. After expressing some confusion at this approach I went outside and duly obliged.

A 35 minute wait for 111 to answer and assess the situation resulted in me being told to go to A&E despite my protests that I'm already at A&E and they've said they cannot help me hence why I called 111 in the first place.

I've now wasted hours being passed from department to department and am no closer to actually being seen?

AIBU to think this is being made unnecessarily complicated and can anyone advice what the fuck I'm meant to do to actually get someone to look at my eye?

Absolutely ridiculous. I myself had flashing visions in my eye a week after I had been discharged with meningitis and sepsis so was advised to go to AnE incase i needed a brain scan. Waited hours and was sent to the eye hospital. They told me to ring them which I did and an eye nurse rang me back and booked me in the next day.

There was some damage from the meningitis and I had laser surgery the following day. Apart from waiting in AnE it was a really positive experience. Try calling the eye hospital directly.

You need to go to an optician. There will be a local one that is designated a kind of eye a and e. Mine is Specsavers. I was checked out there when I had fuzzy vision

My OH has had five years of similar NHS run-around since he was diagnosed with cancer. Departments don't communicate with each-other. The GP surgery and hospital won't communicate. He has made hundreds of phone calls over the five years trying to co-ordinate different fragmented parts of the NHS. It's complete madness.

The worst was when he caught covid. He'd been told by the oncologist to get a special antibacterial or antiviral if he got covid - she said he was eligible due to his cancer. Inevitably, he caught covid, tested positive. Thought it would be a simple matter of getting the drugs. How wrong could he be. He phoned the oncology department, they didn't know, so told him to call his GP. Phoned the GP surgery, they didn't know anything about it and told him to call oncology! He phoned back oncology and explained the GP weren't interested, so they said they'd "get back to him", but inevitably they never did. He phoned back the GP and explained, they said "they'd get back to him" but never did. He then phoned the Covid track and trace helpline and 111 - neither of those could help either and both suggested he phone his GP or the oncology department! So the first day was a complete wasted washout with him no further forward. Same happened second day. When he phoned oncology, it was different staff, they hadn't a clue, had no record of the calls the day before and suggested he call his GP! And so it went on. Basically, second day passed with several phoned calls and no further forward. Third day started, and he phoned both GP surgery and oncology again, neither had a clue, neither had any records of prior phone calls, both said they'd "check and get back to him". Neither did! Come the fourth day, he tried all four again, same answer - just the usual passing the buck. But eventually, he spoke to someone (either GP or oncology, he can't remember) who suggested he phone the ICU department as they would "probably" be using the drug! So he did, got through to someone who knew about it, who promptly said it was too late as it had to be administered within 3 days and started to give him a bit of a rollocking as to why he hadn't asked for it on the day he tested positive.

They really don't know what the hell they're doing. As soon as something is outside their particular little ffiefdom, they're not interested and just pack the buck - no help whatsoever!

Gone back to eye casualty. I think the women on the desk felt sorry for me as she was surprised I was still here. She's gone to talk to someone to see if they can get me seen.

I tried calling some opticians and had not much luck. If I'm meant to go there as some sort of eye a&e then why is there an eye casualty and rhy has no one mentioned going to this eye a&e optician?

It all feels so disjointed. Sorry so many of you have had similar experiences.

I really hope you get some help tonight OP

your situation pisses me off but sadly doesn’t surprise me at all.

Just waiting to be seen now finally. I have a funny feeling this will now be a 10 minute job once I've actually seen someone!

Well I hope it is a little task and you recover asap 💐

if you can face complaining afterwards then do that.

And I'm done... Not even 10 minutes.

You do need to get it checked, your best option is to go to a Eye hospital which usually has its own A&E dept.

Op I also feel your pain.. Quite a few times 111 said x is expecting me, I've gone and they have been really rude and 111 don't know what they are talking about etc.
To someone in pain pushed from pillar to post waiting hours to be seen.
Op I can only think of tweeting this or daily mail fail sad face??
It's a disgrace and time wasting.

Glad you had been seen

Glad that’s done

hopefully all well and you get a rest now

tell your MP. It’s a mess across the board.