"My GP & Accident & Emergency Department"

At the beginning of April I contacted my GP in relation to collapsing with a bout of Acute Back Pain & the GP advised they would get a First2physio to call me on the following day & put me on emergency Triage for a gp to call back on the day, unfortunately the care navigator took the wrong number & no call back received.

The following day I did receive a call from First2Physio but they advised unable to assist & said they would contact GP re pain relief, waited for 2 hours but collapsed again contacted GP to see if First2Physio had contacted, was told no & no Triage calls left & was given number  for all day/out of hours doctors at Cavendish Court. 

Called out of hours doctors, had a phone assessment, at end of call advised to call 999 for ambulance though I explained didn't think it an emergency, they then said  they could get a doctor to call within 2 hours, within 2 hours a doctor called me, after a long conversation & due to the answers I gave they would not prescribe Co-codomol & advised to call 999 for an ambulance. 

By then I had been in excruciating pain for nearly a week & called 999 & was advised it could be some time before they could attend. Unfortunately by this time I was unable to walk due to the pain so could not make my own way to A & E. I then received a call back from 999 who then assessed me & they escalated call due to suspected restriction of blood to my leg & hand. 

Ambulance crew arrived reasonably quickly & were efficient, compassionate & understanding & administered morphine & transported to A & E. 

At A & E I was transferred from the stretcher to a bed in a cubicle. While laid in A & E it seemed chaotic with staff asking for names & details repeatedly, after a short time a member of staff arrived with a wheelchair asked for my name & a request was made for me to "hop into the chair" no explanation as to why I should get in chair or where I was going, despite crying out in pain when transferring from bed to chair no help or aid or concern was shown by the member of staff. 

I was then wheeled out to another part of A & E & left next to a door, when I was asked what was happening the staff member replied in a brusque unfriendly manner, your waiting to see a doctor. I asked how long that would be, they replied a wait of 5 hours. This was said as they walked away. At this point I got quite anxious as I was in an uncomfortable position, I was concerned about the effects of the morphine wearing off whilst in an upright position & screaming out with pain. The treatment I received in A & E made me feel I was a nuisance to the department. 

I lost track of time & I felt the effects of morphine wearing off which then led to excruciating pain when I tried to adjust my position in the wheelchair at that point I considered contacting my partner to fetch me home. My partner advised me to stay so you could receive treatment. As time passed pain returned 2 members of staff walked by & I asked if they knew how longer I was to wait & who could remove cannula if I decided to leave. I was advised if I needed cannula removing I would need to go to Triage area on my own, bearing in mind I was unable to walk this was not an option. After a while I stopped another member of staff this member was far more compassionate & I asked how long was I needing to wait & they came back & said I was next.

The doctor called my name & seeing I was unable to walk wheeled me into the treatment room, The doctor asked about my symptoms & after I explained it wasn't my choice to be there but the GP & out of hours clinics were not prepared to issue pain relief. The doctor prescribed Co-codomol & I was discharged, so a few minutes treatment occurred after sitting in a painful & uncomfortable position for about 4 hours. I noted whilst waiting there at least 5 other patients awaiting pain relief & surely this cannot be good use of A & E time & may go some way to explaining the staff attitude. 

NB my GP did not phone me until 3 days later after my initial call..