"My experience with the NHS"

Recently I had to use the Louth hospital out of hours service as I have been experiencing abdominal pain since after having had an endometrial ablation in April of the same years. Until July 2014 I had the same pain then between July August and part of September the pain seemed to be less intense but by October it increased to the point of needing urgent care.

In Louth hospital they were caring, kind, considerate and made me feel as a human in need of help.

They could not help me further but sent me to Grimsby hospital. In Grimsby that same night I was sent to the gyno ward and were very quickly performed a laparoscopy and had a kidney scan. The consultant and the nurses were kind and the care was ok but it was the information or lack of it that upset me as even after the laparoscopy, I had an oxygen mask on over night, at my question why it was dismissed and moved on.

Anyway they found nothing and said that I was being discharged and had to go back to GP for outpatient referral. To be honest I was gobsmacked as I was in so much pain and as a single parent I found it very difficult to carry on simple day to day tasks.

My GP had to send me back to A&E where again I was admitted in the Grimsby surgical ward B1. Unfortunately there I experienced a lack of care. Not all staff were uncaring but my experience was very negative. I was often left in pain with no help at all. I could recall a few incidents if needs to as it will take too long on here.

I was discharged again after a CT scan. I had a negative and 9 long days in hospital where I was constantly seen by different doctors and always again told different things every time. Again was told that I needed to go through my GP fur further investigation.

I was first admitted and was in hospital until discharged after a month and the next month after that I had to go in and out of hospital and the GP obviously.

I am off work. I had a cystoscopy and now waiting for a colonoscopy and a MRI scan.

I have lost from April 2014 until today the total of 17 kgs of which 10kgs just between October and November.

I found the whole experience very confusing, no information, and as a human being I don't know who to turn to anymore for help.

My GP has been fantastic thou but they are not open all the time and they are restricted on what they can do. I felt like I was a number and not a person. I am requesting a copy of all my files and will try to move on and regain control of my life. But the experience has had a knock on effect. Within family, work and my social personal life.

A lot more could be said and maybe in a different way, I am angry because I still have to be in pain and my children still have to suffer because of it and all my friends too. It could have been sorted in a months.