"Great initial care, then abandoned again"

My Partner came into QEUH A&E with increased back pain and other issues due to a pre-existing problem. Due to being high risk for cauda equina and having symptoms of this (numbness in groin, mix of pain and numbness in legs, straining to urinate and being unable to empty her bladder fully, then minor incontinence) the staff had us in triage within an hour then straight to orthopaedic referrals. The doctor we saw was genuinely brilliant and down to earth, very thorough and genuinely was interested in getting to the bottom of the issue.

Then the problems started. Due to it being after 5pm, the doctor had to contact neurology to authorise an MRI. The waiting area in the SDUCC closed at 7pm so she had to be moved to the relatives room in ward 10c. Throughout all of this, all we had was uncomfortable chairs which for me was bearable, but for someone who already had back issues she was in awful pain throughout.

It was approximately 9:30pm before we were told she was getting an overnight MRI and fortunately this was within the hour she was taken down for this. The nursing staff, HCSW's and porters were all brilliant throughout the wait. It wasn't until after midnight before she finally managed to get a bed.

The next morning, the consultant came in for the ward round and told us it wasn't cauda equina syndrome which we were grateful for, although this happiness was very quickly ruined when they told us my partner would be discharged that day - no further follow-up, investigations or examinations, despite another significant increase in her symptoms in such a short space of time including increased pain in some areas, numbness in others, having to strain more to urinate and only getting small amounts out (confirmed by bladder scan) she was just going to be discharged with nothing further and left to deal with it. 

The exact same situation that happened 3 months ago at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, it wasn't the worst case scenario so regardless of the increase in symptoms which they still haven't diagnosed and the decreased quality of life as a result of these, it wasn't the worst case scenario so they just discharged her.

When I attempted to explain to the consultant the concerns regarding this, the urine retention alone could lead to so many issues including UTI's, kidney problems or even sepsis, let alone the crippling pain and other concerning symptoms, I barely got 2 words in before we were completely dismissed, told to go back to the GP (who advised us to come here in the first place) and quite frankly it felt like the consultant couldn't have cared less.

My partner was persistent in explaining the new neurological symptoms as quickly as she could before the consultant walked out the room and got a quick - We can put in a referral to neurology. But having no sense of urgency regarding the deterioration of her health which gets worse by the week. Another doctor did come through and complete an assessment for this referral before we were discharged

Fast forward to nearly 4 weeks later and continued deterioration in both health and quality of life, we called neurology outpatients, to find out roughly where we were on the waiting list, only to find the referral was never even sent in the first place, now, we have to go chasing doctors yet again.

As someone who does their best to praise the NHS and its staff with its successes as reflected in my previous care opinion stories, this situation is probably the most negative I've felt towards NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, no matter who we speak to, nobody actually seems interested in getting to the bottom of what is clearly a severe health condition and we just keep getting repeatedly abandoned. 

It's the most disheartening and infuriating situation I've faced with the NHS, with a complete lack of care and competence noted throughout. 

My partner received a cancellation notice for her appointment in January for the orthospinal team at the Queen Elizabeth (She was told by the consultant there last month that they would get her into the clinic 2 months later, then it ended up being 4 months away) and now we have no idea how long it will take.

Yet again, another prime example of how people are just being left to suffer in Greater Glasgow and Clyde and quite frankly, nobody seems to care about those individuals and while we know these are problems within the wider NHS in terms of funding and staffing, I feel that numbers are taking priority over patient care.

Having spent over 5 years as a carer for my mum with a life limiting illness before she passed, I’ve had a lot of dealings with the NHS over the years and while things are never perfect and I do give the staff and the system a lot of leeway because I know how challenging it is, I have never felt so let down and angry.