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Needed more pain relief

Posted By augusths57

"Needed more pain relief"

About: Gartnavel General Hospital / ENT Gartnavel General Hospital / Theatres, Recovery and Anaesthetics

(as a service user),

I had a tonsillectomy at Gartnaval Hospital in Glasgow. 

The theatre team was lovely.

The post operative ward was also great, particularly the two nurses. They were both lovely, caring and understanding.
On the post operative ward, I had difficulty getting analgesia when I was sore and was initially given low doses for my size and had to ask for this to be reviewed by the doctor, who did not come and see me to talk things through. The doctor got me mixed up with another patient and said to the nursing staff that I did not want analgesia, which was incorrect. The two nurses were brilliant helping with this. 
 
I was discharged with dihydrocodeine. I had to go to the GP 3 days following discharge for oral morphine as I was struggling to eat, drink, swallow saliva or talk. I was reliant on the oramorph for 10 days. I feel that adults should be discharged with something stronger than dihydrocodeine for tonsillectomy as it was very painful and resulted in significant distress and weight loss due to the inability to take anything orally. 
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Responses

Response from Nicole McInally, Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 2 weeks ago
Nicole McInally
Patient Experience and Public Involvement Project Manager, PEPI,
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Submitted on 05/11/2025 at 09:09
Published on Care Opinion at 09:09

picture of Nicole McInally

Dear augusths57

Thank you for taking the time to share your story.

I’m pleased to hear that you found both the theatre team and the post-operative ward staff to be caring and supportive. It’s especially heartening to know that the two nurses on the ward made a positive difference during your recovery.

I’m very sorry, however, to learn about the difficulties you experienced in accessing appropriate pain relief. It’s concerning that there was confusion regarding your request for analgesia and that this was not clarified directly with you by the doctor. I’m glad the nursing staff were able to advocate on your behalf, but I understand how distressing and uncomfortable this must have been.

Your comments about the discharge medication are also noted. We recognise that pain following adult tonsillectomy can be significant, and I’m sorry to hear that the medication provided was not sufficient to manage your symptoms, resulting in further distress and a need to seek additional support from your GP. Your experience highlights the importance of reviewing discharge protocols to ensure patients receive adequate pain relief tailored to their individual needs.

I have shared your feedback with the relevant clinical teams to see what improvements can be made to pain management and discharge planning for future patients.

I hope you are recovering well at home.

Thank you

Nicole

Nicole

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by augusths57 (a service user)

Thank you Nicole, I appreciate that.

Following some further thought about everything with a clear head. I wonder if the lack of appropriate analgesia resulting in inability to eat is likely to have contributed to the post op infection I got which most likely led to 3 post tonsillectomy bleeds I had. I wonder if this could be fed back to ENT as well please. I was at my family home at the time of the complications in England so they wont have been noted. I wonder if I had been given oramorph initially, these complications may have been avoided.

Thank you again for your response

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