"Extremely rude staff, made to feel a nuisance "

Following a trip to A&E with a severely inflamed tonsil (their words) and a very swollen gland in my neck, I was prescribed antibiotics and advised to take normal pain relief. Unfortunately normal strength pain relief was providing no relief at all, it takes a lot of strength to just just swallow my own saliva, let alone drink or eat. After being up from 1am in excruciating pain two nights in a row I called the surgery to see if they would kindly provide me with some stronger pain relief whilst the antibiotics get into my system as the pain had gotten worse since my trip to a&e and was now effecting my ear. I just wanted to be able to sleep and swallow my own saliva without being in ridiculous amounts of pain. I was told it was not a medical emergency and I ‘should’ be able to cope for another couple of days whilst I wait for the antibiotics to kick in. The lady on reception was awful, she kept huffing, was extremely condescending and made me feel as though I was completely wasting her time. She then told me that if I really feel a sore throat is a medical emergency then I should just go back to a&e.

Why is it so hard to just have a 5 minute call with a Doctor so that they can prescribe me some stronger pain relief?? Instead I end up coming off the phone in tears because I’ve practically begged the lady for help with the pain and she’s made me feel as though I was being a complete burden. What has happened to this surgery? Why do the staff feel the need to be so rude to people?