"A real disappointment - you have to demand the…"

I joined this surgery when it first opened (as I was travelling and needed immunisations) and despite being someone who very rarely goes to the doctor, I was initially pleased with my experience for minor issues like immunisations and standard blood tests.

Nowadays (and I know this isn't unique to this surgery) getting through to the doctor is ridiculously challenging and as a teacher, I can't either sit on the phone for 10-20 minutes at a time on hold, or make 5-7 calls a day in an effort to get through to someone.

Over the years, the quality of everything (except the receptionists - which seem to have improved) has declined and I have come to realise that a chronic health condition which was mis-diagnosed for almost 2 years. When it was eventually diagnosed, I was only given one treatment option - which would have left me infertile in my early 30s and involved major surgery.

As I declined this option, I was given no help - just sent for the same tests and scans every two years, which showed the condition worsening, but none of the alternative treatment options were offered. It was only when a relative with a medical background asked why I hadn't been referred to a specialist that I realised I needed to stop trusting that the doctors here had my best interest at heart and realised that I would have to fight to get help.

Last week, I finally got to an appointment for a much less invasive surgery that should stop my condition getting worse - had I known about this and been offered it, when I was first diagnosed, then a bunch of health issues that I am now suffering from would have been avoided, but to quote one of the doctors I spoke to, "Well, I wasn't too concerned about it and was happy to monitor it and see." Given that this may well affect my ability to have children, I'm sure it doesn't worry her, but it certainly worries me and her lack of concern over my fertility doesn't mean that she/the team have the right to dismiss my desire to have children in future.

I had also been trying to get help for chronic depression and had asked specifically for help. I was given a form to fill out, which I did immediately and then, despite chase up calls, I again received no further help and had to pay for therapy myself (on a part time teacher salary) until I could no longer afford to do so.

I am unhappy, angry and let down by what I feel has been a cavalier attitude to my health and an approach of "We'll leave it until it becomes dangerous or critical and then we'll do something about it." Whilst I should have been more proactive sooner, I naively believed that most of the doctors were interested in helping me stay healthy, not just stepping in when an illness becomes critical or when a patient is so fed up that they start demanding things that should have been an automatic part of their treatment. I rarely go to the doctors, but when I do, I (had) trusted that they were also looking out for my best interests. I now know this is not the case.