"I sat for hours, shivering in pain and nauseous"

Back in November 2024 I initially visited OOH GP in Causeway. The GP was excellent - listened to me, took me seriously. Unfortunately she was limited in her resources so felt I should go round to A&E. She felt I had pyelonephritis and needed an ultrasound and to be admitted for IV abx. She gave me a referral telling them exactly what she thought I needed.

A&E was a totally different story. The staff member when I arrived was  rude and dismissive, telling me it didn't matter what the GP thought it’ll be what the doctors think here. The total lack of respect for the GPs every time I visit causeway hospital is ridiculous. It feels to me as if they actively want to ignore what the GP thinks and prove them wrong. The nurse that took my bloods was rude, telling me off for sitting out in the corridor, despite that being where I was told to go due to being immunocompromised.

I sat for hours, shivering in pain, nauseous, not even offered anything. I saw a doctor who told me I didn’t have pyelonephritis and that nothing was wrong with me, but that we’d wait for my blood results to see. I specifically mentioned some medications I cannot take due to interactions with other meds, and I was told it wouldn’t matter because there’s nothing wrong with me.

I sat all night long, no one spoke to me, checked on me, no plan of action - nothing. At around 6am the doctor called me back in, saying they’d lost my urine sample and asked if I could do another. They said they thought it would be fine and I could go home but wanted to check. My bloods were back and my WBC was slightly high. I tried to explain that due to being immunocompromised my body doesn’t always respond as you’d expect, even with severe infection. I was told I had no urinary symptoms so definitely not pyelonephritis. I explained that urinary symptoms aren’t necessary for that diagnosis but this was ignored.

Again, I was sent to the waiting room. I sat for hours, nothing. At around 9am I asked if there was an update. I was told it was handover and another doctor would be assigned to my case but I’d hear soon. The nurse was not polite about it. I’d been dismissed all night and was feeling very unwell. At around 9:30am, that same nurse came over to me ansd told me the doctor says you do actually have a severe infection which is probably in your kidneys, I was given some  paracetamol, an antiemetic and an antibiotic. The antibiotic was only a 3 day course, and it was the drug I specifically said I couldn’t have - as it interacted with an amber medication that I am on. I hadn’t even got to speak to a doctor, I was just sent on my way.

By this point I was so fed up. I left the hospital feeling totally dismissed and angry.

I ended up going to see my own GP for a more appropriate antibiotic.

However, the antibiotic my GP gave me ended up not being correct and about 2 weeks after my encounter at causeway I went back to my GP who did a urine culture. At this point I had been ill for weeks and had become quick systemically unwell. My own GP ended up doing a referral for me to go back to A&E. However I told her I would not go to Causeway. I ended up driving right past Causeway and going to another hospital - a real shame.

The other hospital took me seriously from the outset, yes it may have been clearer because I was very unwell at this stage, but that was due to Causeway’s dismissiveness weeks ago. They instantly got me IV paracetamol, got me a kidney ultrasound, blood cultures, and I ended up being diagnosed with pyelonephritis and was admitted for days for IV antibiotics and I ended up being on antibiotics for weeks, due to it having been so embedded.

This would not have happened if my experience in Causeway had been better initially. I will never go back there if I can avoid it. The other hospital did exactly what should’ve happened initially. It’s disappointing and disgraceful - and unfortunately not my first bad experience in Causeway hospital but I hope it will be my last, as I won’t be back.