"Out of hours doctor at Kent and Canterbury Hospital"

I rang NHS 111 at around 10am on a Sunday as I suspected my son's eardrum had burst and needed advice. I was told that he needed to see a doctor and was eventually given an appointment at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital at 7. 45pm.

The doctor I saw was unfriendly, unhelpful and lied on my son's referral letter. They said there was nothing they could do except refer me to ENT at A&E in Ashford or Margate (I chose Margate as it's closer to home). They told me they didn't want to 'interfere' as I had seen my GP earlier in the week, before my son's eardrum burst. They then told me they didn't have the right equipment for ear examination and wasn't that kind of doctor?

So I set off for QEQM Margate A&E. When I got there the triage nurse was surprised as she said they don't have ENT at the hospital. The receptionist printed off a referral letter from the out-of-hours doctor which stated my son had refused a full ear examination. This was a complete fabrication.

The sympathetic nurse realised I had travelled quite far for nothing, so she kindly arranged for me to see a doctor on Monkton Ward. This doctor was amazing, friendly, helpful and proactive. He spent a long time with my son and explained everything really clearly...a total godsend!

He wondered why I had been sent to A&E as this routine matter could and should have been dealt with by the out-of-hours doctor. I felt upset and angry at having been 'fobbed off' at Canterbury. It was late and my poor 6 year old son was exhausted. Margate is 40 minutes drive away from home, plus this incurred extra parking charges.