"Telephone consultations"

I’ve been experiencing pelvic pain since my second pfizer vaccination in May 2021. I felt it could have caused some inflammation, as my menstrual cycle became irregular too. I believed it would be something that would resolve with time, as, to my knowledge, many other women who had the injection had similar experiences. However, things did not resolve so I sought advice from my GP. My GP felt it would be best to get an ultrasound. I was on the waiting list for an ultrasound for several months and the pain was worsening. I had an out of hours assessment one night when the pain was worse in the right side, they worried it could be my appendix. The doctor examined me and advised they could not say for sure what was causing the pain, they advised I attend hospital for further examination. At that time, hospital was not an option for me so I decided to go home and monitor. I agreed I would call an ambulance or go to hospital if it worsened. The following day, my GP practice called as my GP received the report from NHS 24 and wanted to follow up. 

Months passed and the pain continued, my menstrual cycle worsened and I was experiencing chronic fatigue. I could sleep up to 15hrs a day. My GP had bloods taken which indicated low folate levels, I was commenced on folic acid. 

More time passed and my ultrasound was still not any nearer. The pain worsened and spread to my lower back. I was becoming panicked by googling and contacted my GP again. My GP advised going in for them to examine me internally and examine my pelvic area. They said that if things were any worse, it could support them in expediting the ultrasound referral. There was no concerns at the time of the internal exam and they reassured me. 

More time passed and I decided to save money to have a private ultrasound. I had this at a private clinic in Glasgow, in December 2021. I explained my symptoms and when they occurred. The doctor advised that there are many women coming to them with similar symptoms and they have escalated this. They offered an internal ultrasound which I accepted. The doctor reassured me that my womb and ovaries were all normal. They showed me on the screen that there was some inflammation and given my symptom profile, it would be suggestive of pelvic inflammatory disease. They advised that I would have to discuss this with my GP and they would write a report. I provided this to my GP who again reassured me that what they found was not unusual and in fact normal, not enough for it to suggest PID and require that line of treatment. I asked my GP what options there were for the chronic pain I was experiencing and the ongoing issues with my menstruation being irregular and heavy. I’m in my 20's and I definitely want to have children in future, so I’m incredibly anxious about what this means for that possibility. My GP advised birth control for possible hormone imbalance but previous experiences of this exacerbated mental health difficulties. They were understanding of this and recommended a gynaecology referral for further assessment, which I accepted. 

I was contacted by the gynaecology service and offered a telephone consultation in January. I’m a health care worker, so I had to negotiate the time with my employer to take this call. They were due to call me at a certain time, no-one rang. I called them half an hour after the call time, to follow up, and was advised that the relevant secretary was on annual leave, I had to leave a message. No one got in touch. I followed up and spoke with a different member of staff who advised they would email the consultant. 2 weeks passed and no contact. I called the gynaecology department again, I spoke with a lovely member of staff who advised that I would need to call referral management for another appointment. I called referral management who advised they can’t do this unless the consultant agrees as on their records and I am down as having not attended the appointment. They signposted me back to the secretary and I had to leave a message. No one got in touch. 

I may now have to go back through my GP for a re-referral and back on to the waiting list. As a health care worker, who worked through the pandemic, I am familiar with the challenges of digitalised care and telephone consultations in relation to covid-19, but I worry how many other women (who may potentially be experiencing similar symptoms) are experiencing this. I appreciate the scope for human error and technical errors but the lack of communication, the misinformation, misdirection and delays caused by this have left me feeling quite frustrated given the pain and anxieties I am living with.