"Eye problem could have been dealt with sooner"

About three years ago I was having problems with watering and very sore red eyes. I phoned my surgery for an early appointment with my GP; I was told it would be about three weeks if I wanted to see MY GP. I was offered an appointment for the next day to see a locum GP and when I explained about the problem with my eyes the locum GP sat in the chair about a meter and a half away and said that it was conjunctivitis , this was without an eye examination.

I was given a prescription for some eye ointment and told that it would clear up in about a month. This did not help and a couple of months later I again went to see yet another locum GP who did exactly the same i.e. no eye examination. I was again given the same eye ointment and told the same. After a few months I was at a hospital appointment for something quite different and the A & E Dr asked what was wrong with my eyes, I told the A & E Dr what had gone on over the last six to eight months and the A & E Dr said he would have a look at my eyes with the eye equipment in A & E. The A & E Dr found that a couple of eyelashes were "in growing" and said that they can be taken out but could grow again. Once the lashes were taken out, it was instant relief. After about a couple of months I had to go back to my GP's surgery and was told I needed to see an eye consultant at the local hospital.

Cutting a very long story as short as possible, I am now being treated for an Ulcer in one of my eyes and Blepharitis in both eyes! I feel that if I could have seen MY GP at the outset, I would have been seen earlier and would hopefully be on the right side of these problems. Another problem is that when I have had treatment in hospital by consultants, the letters that the consultant sends to the GP's surgery should be copied and sent to me. This has not happened in the past and I have had severe worry and medical problems by not being kept in the loop.