"Misinformed and waited months for physio for…"

I dislocated my shoulder at the end of Dec (2024) and was told by the A&E doctors to request physiotherapy when back at home a few weeks after the initial recovery period. I called up Urban Village practice towards the end of Jan and asked if I could be referred for physiotherapy, and was told I would have to make a face-to-face appointment with a GP. However there were no appointments available for the next two weeks, and after that I was out of the country for a month. Obviously with a severe joint injury, getting physiotherapy early on is vital to recovering full use and RoM of the joint. I explained the situation to the receptionist, and asked whether I might be able to be sent just some basic exercises somehow, or whether there was any kind of online or remote services I could access. She was sympathetic and said I could email the practice, and sent me an email address via text. I sent an email and received an annoyed and blunt response that this was an internal email address that I should not have access to! Fair enough but if that's the case then your receptionist should not be giving it out to people!

I booked an appointment for the 4th March, when I returned I attended this appointment. The GP, having assessed the state of my injury and shoulder mobility which was pretty bad by that time, referred me for physiotherapy and for an ultrasound scan. I was at this point still experiencing frequent pain and restricted movement in the shoulder, hindering everyday tasks. As it turned out, the physiotherapy referral actually meant that I would get a phone call in another three weeks time. I called up again, asking whether there was any way of accessing physiotherapy sooner than that, especially given that I had already waited over a month, and at this point my shoulder was actually deteriorating every day, and again was told no, this is the only way to access physiotherapy.

On the 21st March I got a call from the NhS physio. She was really helpful, and when I gave her the timeline of the injury she asked why it had taken so long for me to request physio, I explained the situation and she said that self-referral is always available! She also told me that in the case of a severe injury or accident when you are requesting to see a physiotherapist for the first time following the accident, you should be put in contact with someone within 24 hours! She was very surprised that I had been told on multiple occasions that self-referral is not possible, and been made to wait for so long.

I have a lot of time and patience for the NHS, but I have never encountered such extreme incompetence. I am young, athletic and healthy and should be well on the way to recovery with minimal treatment required, and instead I was messed around for months, given false information and now stuck with a debilitating injury that will take months longer than necessary to fully recover, and may never recover full RoM. Honestly shockingly bad, please, please sort yourselves out.