"Why isn't this urgent?"

About: Royal Bournemouth Hospital / Accident and emergency

(as the patient),

I have been in and out of hospital (A&E) over 7 times due to very bad pain in my upper abdomen area. Due to my bloods not showing infection the A&E department they would keep sending me home. It wasn't until I kept pushing and asking for further action to be taken that they then eventually did an ultrasound scan to find small gallstones and sludge.

However, although some people can manage symptoms at home, I haven't eaten for over 30 days, and my diet is always low fat anyway, I had my ovaries removed at a young age so the gallstones suggest to me that they appeared due to lack of estrogen as this is one of the common things women get.

My pain has worsened over time, and has become consistent, 24 /7 along with no food, sickness, then my stools were very pale and urine very dark, they still sent me home even though I had signs of trapped bile duct and jaundice. It wasn't until I deteriorated further when my liver enzymes blood test results showed up at marker 66, I was then informed to go home and return when I have a MRI scan was booked in, I informed the doctor that if they sent me home and something happened then I would take further action because I am not well.

They admitted me into hospital overnight where I was monitored and given antibiotics. The nursing staff team were amazing and very good, the doctors that visited, some were very good and informative but some not. On my last day, I was told I could go home because they could not see a gallstone trapped in my bile duct and my blood results had gone down to 29 instead of 66. (Liver marker should be between 0 to 17). So I am still higher than the max.

Although there has been improvement, I have been sent home to be left for this to potentially happen again in the near future. I still feel sick, in pain and cannot eat anything, surely this will lead to malnutrition and organ failure if left too long. Who's to say my bile duct will not get blocked again soon? And if so I'll have to have another MRI scan again for them to check?

My question is, all that time and money spent on me in and out of A&E, in hospital to then send me home again for me to return and go through the same process again. Money and time it makes no sense. And also with my health, I cannot live normally and to me it is an emergency because I cannot eat or drink, cannot sleep due to the pain and I have had symptoms of jaundice, pain very day. Why isn't this urgent?

If anything happens to me it will be taken further. I am happy with the nursing staff and 1 or 2 doctors, specialists are great, but I found most of the A&E doctors and surgeons extremely ruthless and they seemed not to care or question my health needs. One surgeon even cancelled my scans and tried telling me I had gastritis! Jaundice and trapped bile duct can lead to sepsis and serious conditions which I had, but send home again? All of our bodies are different and I think this gets forgotten at times. 

I have had a horrible long journey and it could had just been very simple. 

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Responses

Response from Patient Engagement Liaison, University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust last month
University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 05/02/2025 at 13:46
Published on Care Opinion at 13:46


Dear Saltt57,

I am so sorry to hear that you have been experiencing so many health issues and have had to attend the Emergency Department (ED) so many times. It is very frustrating that you have had on-going symptoms and I am sorry to hear you have been in pain and not had a long term solution given.

ED does deal with a huge number of patients and we are as a Trust trying to improve how patients come into hospital through different pathways and clinics, rather than having to keep going back to ED each time you have a flare up of a diagnosed condition.

I am so sorry that you found certain members of the medical team to be not as empathetic as one would hope.

Unfortunately the criteria to be in hospital or to undergo a surgical procedure as an emergency are comprehensive and the decisions are not taken lightly. I am sorry if you were expecting an operation but have been asked to wait or your condition be treated conservatively at this stage.

I really am very sorry for the journey you describe. I would urge you to please get in touch with the PALS team, either by email or telephone; patientexperienceteam@uhd.nhs.uk or 0300 019 8499. If you leave your details then we can look into the concerns you have raised and address them for you.

With Warm Wishes

The Patient Experience Team

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