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.

Just tape it up and carry on. What do you expect a GP to do?

In my area and the one I lived in before that, minor injuries was actually very efficient and there was never any significant delays. Just drop your daughter at nursery, head over there, if you end up waiting too long and need to pick her up, then just leave? I’m not sure what all the fuss is about.

It’s true you can’t tell if it’s broken without an x ray. But knowing it’s broken doesn’t make much difference to the treatment. It needs stabilising and rest. That’s not something you need special equipment or expertise to do.

YABU. A GP wouldn't be able to tell for sure it wasn’t broken without a x-ray. But in any case, in my experience, even if it is broken they won’t be able to do anything about it. Unless it’s really displaced, which doesn’t sound like the case (particularly as the swelling is going down), they would just tell you it will heal on its own.

I might be completely wrong, but I think if you call 111 and they can sometimes allocate an appointment at minor injuries.

I think you've answered your own question there. If you literally don't have the time to do something about a relatively minor injury that isn't getting any worse, you do nothing and carry on with your day.

If it isn't serious or problematic enough for you to make it a priority and rearrange your day around it then it probably isn't serious enough for the GP or the Minor Injuries unit.

No wonder they struggle to recruit GPs 😬

I hurt my toe and was told to go to minor injuries or A&E, can’t remember exactly (was a few year’s ago). I think they said it was broken. Nothing you can do except give it time to heal. I remember hobbling around for quite some time.

No no you need to get your toe xrayed if it’s your big one. They don’t care about the others but you have to get it set if it’s the big one.
I fell down the stairs last year and broke mine and had to get it xrayed and given a boot and two additional xrays. If it heals wrong it will impact your balance and ability to walk / run. Go to minor injuries

Its a toe!
A toe.
What do you think inor injury unit will do.
Even if its broken, they can't do anything.

YABU. No point in going to see GP. They do not have x-ray vision!

The GP practice was correct. Short of strapping it up (which you could do) nothing else they can do except advise X-ray. I probably wouldn’t even bother doing that at this stage.
This is why there’s no appointments folks. Practice nurse.

YABU, why do you think you know better than the receptionist signposting you? They've told you to go to MIU - so go to MIU and stop wasting their time

There's no way a medical professional can say for sure whether it's broken just by examining and without an x ray. I broke my ankle last year, I knew I had because I heard it snap and could feel it was broken. At my initial examination at A&E, I was told he was sure it was just a sprain and sent for an X ray which confirmed the fracture.

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.

The GPs have given you the correct medical pathway.

The GPs could slot you in to have a Doctor look at your foot and listen to your symptoms and tell you the exact same thing as the person who answered the phone.

Sorry I am clueless about these things I’ve been lucky it’s not happened before. Do you tape it to the other toe presumably? How tightly?!

If you are clueless dont try to tape a swollen toe. While it is likely to heal without problem on its own stressing a fracture could create long term damage.

Call your local MI/ the fracture clinic and see if they do appointments.

How and why did you fall?
How did you land in a way to break your toe?

Such horrid language in your thread title - why? Is it necessary? Can't avoid seeing it if trying to join other threads 😥😥😥

Your GP hasn't got x-ray vision - they'd just send you to minor injuries anyway, if they eyeballed you themselves.

Like others are saying the Gp would still send you for an x ray, and wouldn't be able to treat your toe, so the options is either minor injuries or not, i hope you manage to find the time to go you must be in agony.

You can get rubber squishy toe covers (I use them for running) to protect the toe and/or tape it to the next toe to let it heal. I broke my little toe once and there was no treatment - it will heal on its own but it needs to be destabilised. So tape it up, take some pain killers, and you will be fine. Don't panic!

Unfortunately your ability to go and covering child care isn't their responsibility, the GP has sent you to the right place. They also cannot comment on the severity of the injury as, well, need an xray for that.

This is NOT why there are no appointments unless you want to discount decades of underfunding and poor management of the NHS? Why would you want to blame the patients? Awful.

It is not the same for your big toe. It’s a core part of your foot. It needs to be xrayed. If it heals wrong she’ll need surgery

Honestly, I would just keep an eye on the swelling, in the meantime, just stop at your local chemist for tape/plasters. If in doubt of what to buy, ask the pharmacist.
Toes, and indeed fingers (obviously, the latter depends on how extreme the break is!) quite often sort themselves out.
I know after an accident, especially if your fall painfully, it’s easy to panic, and assume worse case scenario, but it doesn’t sound like it needs formal medical attention.
I was convinced I had a broken big toe(dropped a v heavy object ontoe, and it was super painful!), a couple years ago, and made a real song and dance about it🙄, only to very embarrassingly, have the HCP tell me, my toe was ‘just a bit bruised’😳🫢…. Indeed that’s all it was.

Yeah i'm with the GP on this one. Your choice to leave remote isnt their issue.

You definitely aren’t being a twat, just an overwhelmed single parent. I have been there!

However, minor injuries is the correct route here. GP is unlikely to be able to rule out a break without x ray. Seeing them will be a waste of your time as well as theirs. You will just be adding an unnecessary layer.

I hope you get it sorted. 💐