"There was no compassion"

I  recently rang the surgery advice line. I were suffering a very unpleasant bout of vertigo. I had recently attended ENT & was awaiting feedback from both my GP & Consultant. The member of staff I spoke to informed me they would get a Dr to ring me.

Later that day the phone rang, after the initial problem of not being able to hear one another, I explained my plight. The Consultant had requested my GP prescribed medication to help with my vertigo & nausea. I explained my concern of taking the medication & went on to explain I had spoken to ENT who advised me not to take due to my Cardiac issues & my previously suffering Heart Failure. 

I have suffered Heart Failure, I am diagnosed with Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis, Hiatus Hernia & due to being diagnosed with Antiphospholipid Syndrome at risk of clots! I had every reason to be concerned about the medication prescribed me.

I thought the person I was talking to on the phone was a Dr. I asked if there was anything they could prescribe to help my symptoms. I explained I am in my 70s, live alone & was petrified of falling. The member of staff on the end of the phone said they were unable to prescribe. I was baffled by their reply. I explained I had been informed by reception a Dr would phone me. The person on the phone told me I would have to get back in touch with reception to discuss why a Dr hadn't rang me.

It was late in the day & being a Friday I was now being told to ring the Surgery on Monday as it was only a couple of days to wait or go to the Surgery in person. I explained I was housebound & not able to go to the surgery.  I was in desperate need of something to calm the debilitating symptoms, but with that the person on the phone retorted that they weren't going to waste any more of their time & hung up!

I felt shocked, rather deflated & couldn't help but wonder if the person on the phone had elderly relatives & if so would they have hung up on them if they were at risk. The member of staff in question must have had second thoughts, because they rang me back a good 15 - 20 mins later informing me a Dr would be ringing me on Monday. 

Later that day I signed into SystemOnLine to see who I had spoken to. There was no name but the person on the phone had a title I am not familiar with. I was shocked at what this staff member had written in my notes, stating that I was rude & criticising. Is it considered rude to be frightened, unwell & to ask for help ? Was it criticism to state the medication prescribed me was not suitable to be prescribed to a patient such as myself?  I had explained to them that a consultant had agreed I should not take the medication & now I was left in limbo without meds.

I have since emailed senior staff at the surgery, without recognition or response to my email. I have spoken to reception staff, who escalated as to why my email hadn't been acknowledged as there is a time scale, but still no response.

This sort of incident & unfounded comments in my notes most certainly has made me think twice about contacting the surgery if or when in a crisis. There was no compassion of my state or risk of my falling.