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Concerned about abdominal pain and told to go to GP

Posted By Gerrym

"Concerned about abdominal pain and told to go to GP"

About: Royal Victoria Hospital / Accident & Emergency

(as a service user),

I went to RVH A&E 3 times over the past two weeks with severe abdominal pain and on all three occasions after some time, they eventually took a blood and a urine sample.

Over ten hours later I saw a doctor who told me blood and urine samples were clear. I explained the pain had increased since my last visit and I was going to the toilet about every hour over the past four weeks. I told him I was very concerned but felt I was not being listened to and was fobbed off and told to go to my GP.

I have no confidence at all with the service.

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Responses

Response from John Barron, Service Manager, Urgent & Emergency Care, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust last week
John Barron
Service Manager, Urgent & Emergency Care,
Belfast Health and Social Care Trust

Service Manager Adult Urgent and Emergency Care

Submitted on 09/10/2025 at 10:49
Published on Care Opinion at 10:49

Dear Gerrym,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I’m John Barron, Service Manager for Adult Urgent & Emergency Care, and I’m very sorry to read about what you’ve been through. What you describe — multiple visits, severe pain, long waits, and feeling you were not heard — falls far short of the patient experience we aim to deliver.

Our Emergency Department teams work hard to assess and treat patients as quickly as possible, but I recognise that this can be an incredibly difficult time for anyone waiting in pain or uncertainty. I fully understand your frustration and concern, especially when your symptoms worsened and you felt dismissed — that must have been very distressing.

I will share your feedback with the team so we can reflect on communication, listening, and decision-making processes, particularly in cases where symptoms may not immediately show in test results but clearly have a major impact on patients.

Again, I’m sorry for the distress you’ve experienced, and I hope you are now feeling much better.

Kind regards,

John Barron

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