"Appalling treatment received at A&E"

My 28yr old daughter has a degenerative spinal issue and lives in constant pain but has learnt to live with it. Whilst at work today, her back became horrendously painful, in a different way than normal, and she struggled to move. She had to leave work and attend A&E Dept at RAH, after advice from NHS24.

She was then treated horrifically by certain members of staff at A&E, and seemed to be being judged as someone who just wanted pain relief - despite only being there after being referred for a spinal check by NHS24. Anyone who saw her could see the agony she was in but the staff present did not care - it seemed they just wanted rid of her. The only test they did was a urine test - no bloods, x-rays etc. Despite then giving her liquid morphine, which barely touched the sides of her pain, they insisted she was fit to go home.

She was alone, as her dad had to wait in the waiting room and was not allowed to be present due to covid. She lives alone, had no idea what to do about the lack of support, was exhausted and treated appallingly.

Both my husband and I were trying our best to help her, albeit from a distance, but the staff involved were not listening to her. So I called the department directly and complained to two individuals, one of whom was apparently a doctor but never gave a name. I explained that she lived alone, was in a horrendous amount of pain and needed their help. The Dr then told her that she could either wait 12 hrs for a bed (which would not have been an issue if they had addressed the pain in the meantime) or alternatively take suppository painkillers home - no difference between those options then! She could not even use the bathroom properly, so how did someone - a doctor - not realise that she was completely unable to insert these painkillers herself? She told them repeatedly she lived alone, so I would love to know exactly how they were supposed to be administered into her system? Plus, she cannot take anti-inflammatories but they had not bothered to check about that and the drug would still have entered her system and caused further issues, regardless of the method of administration!

I called again but got nowhere. Despite my daughter and husband being up at RAH A&E for over 7hrs on the advice of NHS24, and these new painkillers being prescribed to solve an issue that morphine could not touch, she had still not received them. She decided that she could not take the stress any longer, so she has been brought home by her dad - in the exact same state as NHS24 sent her to the RAH in. I am in no doubt that she is going to call us during the night and fully expect to have to call an ambulance if her pain does not ease - a HUGE waste of public resources, which are already under pressure and completely unnecessary had the staff actually done their job properly today. I only pray that this is not a serious spinal issue that will impact her life any further.

I completely understand that the NHS is overwhelmed and life is hard - BUT there is no need to accuse a young girl of seeking pills, putting people off getting medical attention by holding 12hr waits for a bed over their heads in the hope they give up or issue medications that are physically impossible to be administered by the patient! 

My daughter's spinal condition has had a huge impact on her life. She did not do anything to cause this condition and would love to live her life free from pain and prescriptions. She hates having to take medication and only takes the bare minimum she needs, so I find it completely insulting to have hospital staff tell me that they don't see people for pain relief! She was not there to get some extra pills. We called NHS24 because of the physical state she was in because of something going on in her back/spine. NHS24 said they were referring her straight to RAH A&E because of the spinal issue she has. We were all very concerned about how little she could move and her inability to lift her legs or even sit down comfortably. There is no excuse whatsoever to treat a patient, or their family, in such a disgusting way and I hope that this is passed onto the correct people at RAH.