Beversbrook Medical Centre 2022-07-08 Person 2 5 0

I contacted the surgery using the doctor link server on Tuesday morning… I had a very enflamed and painful throat effecting my ability to speak as well as a urine infection. As I have been prone to kidney infections, at this time I was more concerned about that so based my doctor-link answers around that. Dramatically (I will admit) it said I should be seen within an hour. I received a text message from the surgery later that morning saying they were at capacity today and to send more info. I sent more info and some poor pictures and was told someone will phone me between 9am and 2pm Wednesday. I did respond asking how a doctor is expected to diagnose a UTI and tonsillitis or whatever was going on in my throat but I was told I can’t come in due to covid risks and the option to respond was removed. Had it have been there, I could have informed them my first call was a covid test on Monday and it was negative. I finally got to speak to a doctor and the first thing she said to me was “you sound full of cold” this instantly put me on a back foot and made me feel completely belittled. I mentioned my throat and said said from the picture I sent it doesn’t look like anything so she’ll give me a 5 day course of general antibiotics to cover the UTI and then if there is anything wrong with my throat it will also cover that! I also asked as I e had 3 kidney infections in the last 2 years, is this something that needs to be investigated as I seem to be getting them and in the last instance ending up in hospital with a KI every 6 months? She said no, some people just get KI and there’s nothing you can do. Following this I wasn’t reassured. I did some research on the antibiotics I’d been prescribed and it kept saying it wouldn’t be enough for a throat infection. This is when I called back to make a complaint. I was called Thursday mid morning (after chasing for an estimate time) my the practice manager. She was very helpful and listened to what had happened. I then explained that I now have significant pain in my ears so I don’t think the antibiotics I was given are working as I’d taken 3 doses, I wouldn’t expect to be getting worse. She agreed and arranged for me to have an appointment the following day (Friday) as again, they were at capacity. Friday, I attended my appointment with a different doctor but again felt as if this man was only there to pay the bills. He looked at my throat for a very brief second and said it’s tonsillitis. I tried to explain that the white infection was actually behind my tonsils and above my mouth, in my throat and started to find a picture I had managed to take so I could show him what I meant and he just responded very quickly with “I saw it”. He did try to take my oxygen level but the proceeded to tell me he couldn’t as I had nail polish on (which I found myself apologising for!) after this he continued to write up the prescription, I asked about pain relief and he said to get a spray but that was all. Once I left I realised, he never checked my ears or any other vitals and still now I am 3 doses into the second lot of antibiotics and the ear pain is worse. I am also now blowing blood out of my nose and do not feel confident in the care I have received that this is normal and to give the antibiotics more time. After 5 days of not being able to speak properly or eat, having to have more time off work than necessary, take care of a 3 year old, I am so heartbroken that not even the NHS could help me when I needed it. I will be changing GP surgeries as soon as possible for both myself and my daughter after this. No one should be make to feel like what they have to say doesn’t matter or that they are beneath them the way your staff continuously did this week.

Everything! Absolutely everything should have been better.