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Original poster

Can someone please help me to get an urgent CT scan?

11 replies

Eggsley · 16/12/2023 15:14

DH had blood in his urine overnight and has been in agony since 5am, we've been at A&E since 6am, moved to Same Day Emergency Care at 12pm, have been told he needs an urgent CT scan, the doctor in this unit cannot get through to radiology.

There is apparently only one person in the whole hospital who can approve the CT request and no-one can find him, I've been to the radiology department to speak to them, the doctor on this unit has been down to speak to them, I don't know what else I can do, they won't give DH any more painkillers either. In 20 years I have never seen him in so much pain and so scared.

Can anyone give me any help or advice please? What can I do to try and get this CT scan? Is there anyone I can ask to speak to? I just don't know what else to do.

OP posts:
Sodthebloodypicnic · 16/12/2023 15:18

There's no reason to leave someone in pain like that.
Get someone to review him and make a plan for his pain to be under control. If they can't give him more of one painkiller there will be others they can try.

If he is in so much pain he can't lie still they won't be able to scan him anyway

PickledPurplePickle · 16/12/2023 15:21

Why can't they give him more pain killers? Has he already had the maximum dose allowed?

What did radiology say when you spoke to them?

Can the doctor who can authorise things not be paged?

Original poster
Eggsley · 16/12/2023 15:32

He's had the max dose of whatever they gave him as a suppository - diclophenac? First had 100ml and then 50. He's had oramorph and cocodamol, plus 2 litres of IV fluid since 6am

Radiology said the doctor would need to come round, when she did, they couldn't help her. They seem to have some ridiculous phone system that doesn't work properly and no-one seems to know how to contact other departments.

She must have tried a million times over the phone. She has just been down again and come back to say she managed to speak to someone and the scan has been approved but now we have to wait for them to call him down. No timescale for that.

OP posts:
PickledPurplePickle · 16/12/2023 16:05

Have you asked the doctor again about his pain when she came back?

Kimmeridge · 16/12/2023 16:09

Can anyone give me any help or advice please? What can I do to try and get this CT scan? Is there anyone I can ask to speak to? I just don't know what else to do

Youre in a horrible situation but realistically noone on here will be able to help. He's in hospital & the doctor has got him on the list for a scan. There's nothing else that can be done. It's just a waiting game now.

The one thing you can get them to look at is his pain meds. He shouldn't be in that much pain. That's awful

Greybeardy · 16/12/2023 16:12

The scan is vanishingly unlikely to make any difference to whether they can give him more pain relief. As a general rule if someone’s conscious, breathing a still in pain they can probably have more opioid. A lot of out of hours imaging is outsourced so if they’re struggling to get hold of the radiology consultant it may be due to tech difficulties. If it’s a non-consultant your husband has seen in ED, they are able to escalate things via their own consultant - the ED consultant can probably make the decision if it is that urgent. Urgent doesn’t always (/often) mean it must happen immediately and shouldn’t interfere with providing symptomatic relief. In most hospitals there will be a queue of people waiting for scans at the weekend…it may just be that he’s in the queue.

Original poster
Eggsley · 16/12/2023 16:43

Yes I have asked repeatedly about pain relief and keep being told they can't give him anything else until after he's had the scan. Thankfully he has had the scan now so hopefully he'll get something else soon, although they've said it'll be an hour or so before they have the result. He's not had any pain relief since 12.15pm but whatever he had last seems to have kicked in and eased it finally and he's managed to get more comfortable. At least he's not writhing around on the floor any more.

Thank you so much to those who replied, I have never felt more helpless in my life and I really didn't know where else to turn.

OP posts:
PickledPurplePickle · 16/12/2023 16:45

Sounds like things are moving for him now

Great that he's had the scan, hopefully now he can have more pain relief and they can work out what is going on x

Payakan · 16/12/2023 18:03

Great that he had the scan, and as PP said, it shouldn't make difference into giving more pain killer.
Hopefully the report comes soon and he will be given some.

Needahandholdplease2023 · 16/12/2023 21:31

Hope you and your husband are ok how stressful and awful for you both! X

PickledPurplePickle · 16/12/2023 23:18

I hope you and your husband are OK and you have some answers now x

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