"A Waste of Time"

My experience with the Pain Management team has been a complete and utter waste of my time...following a bad accident on my pushbike when a dog ran out into the road.

I was sent from GP to Care UK Xray at Oak Park, Havant to physiotherapy.

Then wasted months doing useless exercises from a physiotherapist coping with worsening pain.

Then referred to see a ''specialist physiotherapist'' whom I got to see 4 months later who then sent me for an MRI scan about 20 miles away even though I live 5mins drive from QA hospital.

After waiting 6 weeks for the result I then got referred to the Pain Management Clinic at QA...saw a consultant who said he would try a facet joint injection and waited another 4 months for that procedure in April 2017.

It didn't work.

A telephone follow up appointment was arranged with a pain management nurse which didn't happen until June 2017 and I was told to wait for a review with the same consultant which didn't happen until September 2017.

All this time pain is worsening.

Pain consultant sent me for another MRI at QA because, wait for this, medical staff cannot access any MRI results performed by Care UK! even though your GP sends you there!!

Following the MRI I was diagnosed with Occipital Neuralgia-the pain is unbearable at times but I didn't see the consultant at follow-up in November 2017 because the appointment was sent as a telephone appointment so he was waiting there at the hospital to see me and I was waiting at home for them to phone me.

My GP received a terse letter saying I was a DNA when it wasn't even my fault.

I telephoned after an hour's wait to ask what was going on and was given another appointment for the 2nd week of December...to see another Pain management nurse who informed me she was going to phone me in Jan 2018 after she had spoken to my consultant...she phoned me this morning to tell me she hadn't spoken to the consultant but would ring me before lunch.

She rang me after lunch today to tell me that the consultant can't help me any more.

With one wave of his pen, I've been dismissed.

After two years of messing up appointments and non action it's all been a complete waste of time and now I'm on constant painkillers which will most likely damage my liver with no sign of any relief and no help.

Take my advice, if you take a tumble, call an ambulance straight away, don't try to be stoic - make lots of noise and demand, demand, demand otherwise you'll get nowhere.