"Scared and Left in pain."

I attended Wishaw General A&E department recently due to excruciating pain in my leg.

Upon being seen, the doctor in charge of my care sent me for an x-ray and I was told that I would require bloods taken. The doctor listened to me as I explained that I have MS, however I know my own body and this pain did not feel related to it, but something all together different.

I was told I would have pain relief, but was sent for my x-ray before I got it. My x-ray was carried out almost without delay on arriving at radiology, however I had a 45 minute wait to be taken the 30 or so yards back to A&E! ! ! All this time I was in agony.

On returning to A&E, I had another doctor take over my care as the first doctor had finished shift. Again, I was left in pain and my son had to ask the nursing staff for my pain relief as it had been left sitting out waiting for my return, but not given when I got back until the pain was so unbearable my son took action to ask.

After another long wait, the second Dr came back with my results of no broken hip or fractures so I could leave and leave my GP to sort out aftercare. I was also told to go to my GP for pain relief, therefore I left the hospital without any at all and suffered until I could get an appointment. Further to this, I was told that an incidental mass was found in my womb and they were unsure of what it was, but an ultrasound would be arranged and I should go to my GP for the bloods that they did not do in the hospital.

Yesterday I received a call from a Radiologist who explained that in fact I have such damage to my hip that I will need a hip replacement, and that the masses in my womb are nothing to worry about.

The radiologist was very helpful and set me at ease. However my experience in A&E have left me upset and very reluctant to trust the NHS as I have effectively been left to arrange my own treatment and was left not only without pain relief, but terrified I may have something sinister, while the all staff seemed less that sympathetic. I have spent the last week or so withdrawn and scared, but also angry that I was a vulnerable person in pain, and effectively brushed aside as there was nothing obvious to signpost my pain. It felt as though everything was being lain on my MS, because many people do not understand it, so categories whatever they don't know about so that they may avoid actually doing any investigations to find the cause of the problem.