Have I been a twat or should the GP surgery have given me an appointment?

[Isgreasl]

For context I am a single parent and I work full time so I may be feeling a bit overwhelmed with stress. I don’t know if I’m being unreasonable.

I have had swelling on my toe after falling. It swelled up really fast and has lessened since but the bruising is still bad. I asked for an appointment for the GP to review and I was told to go to a minor injuries unit as it might need an x ray. Minor injuries is 40 minute drive (we are remote) and will take almost an entire day to be seen. I can’t go in first thing as I need to drop DD at nursery (unless I wanted to take her with me which I don’t!).

I have asked them again for an appointment and asked for it to be escalated as I’m not happy with being told to go to minor injuries. I’m really exhausted and confused as to whether I’m in the right here?! From what I’ve read it’s usual to have a few signs looked at with the toe to decide if an x ray is needed and that this is something a GP could do.

No! You are not being a twat … but you’re making an issue out of something which is deflecting from the most important thing (person) in this situation .. I.e. YOU! You’ve had a fall. You’ve injured yourself. So….. Normal Service is interrupted. Whether that is nursery, job, shopping, other appointments, love-life or whatever. Get yourself to minor injuries clinic, take DD with you if necessary. DD needs a Mum who’s on her toes, so stop dithering and get yourself treated. Best wishes for full recovery.

If you are worried about it you can call 111 and I believe you can make an appointment at the MIU, that is certainly what happens in my area. It’s not like A&E where you will be there for hours.

You're wasting your time and the GPs time going to the GP appointment to be inevitably sent to the minor injuries

Our minor injuries is absolutely brilliant. They'll triage you, send you for an xray , tell you ( and show you) you the results, do whatever is appropriate and send you away. Your GP can't do any of that.

They’ll more than likely want to send you for a precautionary x-ray.

If you can’t find the time to go it can’t be that bad. Just strap it to the next toe.

Unless you think your GP has x-ray vision then seeing them is a waste of time. Minor injuries is the place to go, irrespective of how inconvenient that may be for you.

If you ring 111 they will triage you and can fastrack you at A&E for Xrays. I had an issue a few months back and was in and out of A&E, with XRays taken, looked at and seen by doctor within an hour as 111 had booked me a timeslot. Average waiting time said 5 hours in the waiting room. Maybe try this route?

Well if you won't go to A&E. Then you have two choices. Carry on . Or go to hospital. It won't take all day either. Also can you ask your mum or friend to pick up your child from nursery if your held up at the hospital.

YANBU I work in a minor injuries unit and unless there is a deformity (displaced fracture or dislocated) we shouldn’t/wouldn’t xr it because it’s giving someone radiation they don’t need. Treatment is the same. This applies to toes 2-5. Even if we suspect an uncomplicated fracture we would strap it to the next toe for comfort and suggest it could take 6 weeks to heal. Different story if it’s the big toe.

It’s either bad enough to make the effort to go to minor injuries or it doesn’t need treatment

I am not sure that anyone can do anything for a broken toe.
The doctor is right that you need to go to minor injuries.
I have been A and E for hours waiting to be seen and there was nothing they could do apart from ice and elevate.

I I once injured my toe,it turned black,happened to be at the hospital for another reason,the doctor sent me over to A&E,but they said they do not x-ray the toe unless it is visibly out of shape. Even then,they only bind it up to keep it straight,if not deformed they leave it to heal,as you would with any bruise.Fingers,of course,are different. If the joint is deformed as well as bruised,your GP was right,far better to go to Minor Injuries,where they have X ray facility if necessary.Hope it is feeling better,I remember how painful mine was!

You do need an X-ray but GPs are awful in my opinion

dad was tested for diabetes twice over two years. Both times he heard nothing so assumed it was all okay.

then recently he got a letter asking for him to go to a diabetic eye test. What? Turns out GP FORGOT TO TELL HIM! His eyes are now permanently damaged, my mother is fuming as they’ve deteriorated in those two years - since the two forgotten test results.

so, formal complaints, GP very sorry etc. so, after my dad’s recent blood test, he tried ringing ten times. He’d hold and then it wouldn’t go through. He’s at work so my mum rings. I listened to the convo on loud speaker. Issue with portal so he can’t retrieve them via that.

mum: hello, I’m X, Y’s wife. Could you please ring him and let him know his recent results?
receptionist: no.
mum: what do you mean?
r: we let him know if there’s something wrong
m: I’m sorry but we’ve had two bad results go astray. He’s worried about his health. Could someone just give him a quick call so he knows his exact results. GP knows about our previous complaint and promised all results will now be talked over.
r: I can’t discuss it with you
m: I’m not asking you to. Can you please ring him?
r: no, I can’t discuss this matter with you
m: I’m not asking you to, could you please just get his GP to arrange a time to call him? Phone him now? Literally anything?

ans the receptionist hung up on her! how unreasonable? My mother was so polite and patient.

Pharmacy?

or call 111 and then get a video call back with a gp if they think necessary - surely if it just needs to be looked at to determine if you need an X-ray or not this is enough ??

not really needing a gp in person appointment I don’t think

Do you want him to xray it with his eyes?
its a total waste of an appointment.

So would a GP not be able to decide if it’s probably ok and no x ray needed?

No. He can't. It also depends which toe it is. If it's your little toe they prob won't do anything anyway. Your big toe might need some strapping. But the doctor can't know that without an x ray.

I do something similar almost every year - terrible bruising and a line suggesting a slight break - but as it’s only painful if I move it I tend to just tape it to the toe next door (some times don’t even have to do that) and it heals by itself.

Sorry, Dr is correct here, signposting you to the right people to see

Fuck me, this site is nuts 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Very little they can do for toes. Supportive shoe and gentle mobilisation.
This is why people need to do basic first aid courses etc

Prime example of why the NHS is in the shit when people are wasting time like this and have no life skills to try and work out how to get to minor injuries. Expecting everyone to run around after you because you couldn’t possibly disrupt your darling child or spend a few hours getting sorted out is highly unreasonable. The worlds gone fucking mad.

I wouldn’t do anything for a toe. Massively unreasonable to expect an appointment for this.

Not even taping as you risk causing more problems than it solves.

Ice in a towel for a couple of 10m on-off cycles and a few days of Ibuprofen if able to take it. Prop the foot up when resting.

don't think you are a twat but neither do I think that the GP was wrong. You have an injury so should go to the best people to help with that. The alternative is to take a GP appointment & then in all probability you will have to go to minor injuries for an x-ray anyway. GP appointment wasted & you have two visits instead of one.

111 can often book you into minor injuries give them a ring if you haven't resolved it by now

As someone who works at WIC I can confirm we get both extremes. People who try and try to sort it out themselves wait too long and then turn up when they need serious help and need to be admitted to hospital or someone with a paper cut or skin peeling at the edge of their nail or a child with a little skin flap on their foot!
Or someone with pain but took no pain relief to show me how bad it is. When really you should take the pain relief so I can see if it’s helped or not touched the pain. Or people who have had a fever for half an hour….the list goes on!
I do question why people don’t take some ownership/common sense for basic health.

hi op are you saying you are too busy to get your health looked at? If it was your dc I’m sure you would sit there all day it’s not ideal being so far away but health is more important than everything.