I am absolutely fed up.

Charley girl the OP already has a sympathetic GP. She said that he is as frustrated as she is.

And I agree with Charleygirls suggestion. You have been driven to this due the state the n.h.s. Is in. It is not right you are in pain and effectively house bound and seemingly will carry on being so as no one cares! Plenty of time wasters in A n E and you have a genuine reason so try that route. Good luck.

I suggest you get in touch with PALS. Just keep on about your health being very affected and your mental health is now serious . I also suggest we all contact our local m.p. With full details of what is going on for any of us caught up in the N.H.S. , which we have been told for decades is the envy of the world!! People in this country are brain washed haveing that repeated. We are definitely not the envy of the world. The NHS is too big and unwieldy and I cannot imagine it ever being manageable. Look to Canada and Australia. They don’t have private medicine, seems to work o.k.there.

I can't believe the horrendous treatment you have received.

By now I would have thought there would have been a smidgeon of recovery so I hate to say it, is there something else wrong which was missed?

I would return to your surgery and ask why the scan was refused. State you can't afford a private scan and see what he says,

Secondly, you could ask to see another GP at the surgery. Do you know of any who may be more sympathetic?

Thirdly, but this is a very last resort. Go to A&E , ham it up, saying the pain you are in now is worse, and you don't know how it happened. Maybe turning over during sleep? They are duty bound to for some tests and not show you the door. If the treatment is unsatisfactory, ask to see who is in charge.

I know this is a bit hard core and many may disagree, but you have your life to live, now, not in 4 years time when waiting lists are fewer.

Someone said they felt sorry for the staff of our wrecked NHS ( a deliberate policy of the Tory government) My midwife daughter left the NHS as they were unable to give the necessary care to mums and babies.
She became an independent midwife and gives wonderful care now but it’s a difficult life, on-call much of the time so unable to plan anything, go anywhere or even have a drink. It also carries enormous responsibility which costs enormous insurance.
We are on the slope to private health insurance, where vast profits will be made out of sickness and the poor will go to the wall, as in America.

I know exactly how you feel. With my bad knee I can walk around the house but struggle to walk once outside ( although still don’t understand why being outside makes such a difference). Yesterday I was hobbling round the garden. When I went inside my partner said he’d taken the dog for a walk but when he tried to tell me he was going out didn’t know where I was. I went ballistic saying where the hell would I be, you know I can’t walk anywhere. I’ve even started dreaming about going for walks ( had one of those dreams last night and didn’t want to wake up). Can’t help with the technicalities of referrals etc ( not having much success with the NHS myself) but offer my sympathy when it comes to being housebound. I’m very very irritable.

Just a thought with this warm weather. Are you able to get to a pool? Might be nice to pootle about, supported by the water?

Surely after 6 months with no improvement, tests and physio should be the next logical step. When you break a bone you have a fairly good idea of when you will be getting back to normal but muscular pain is not so clear cut. I really feel so sorry for you as constant pain is debilitating on many levels. Can you ask for a second opinion? I would have a try if I were you. The comments concerning Streeting on this thread are echoed by many of my friends. They also feel that being elderly means being near the end of the queue. It's a depressing thought. I wish you well.

I had sore Achilles tendons after lockdown - weeks of wandering the house in flat shoes/slippers. Not as serious as a tear, of course, but restricting. I found that wearing low heels eased the discomfort considerably.

I remember my MiL being told to wear heels after an Achilles tendon injury.

Magenta8

Have you contacted PALS (The NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Service) ? I know GPs are getting frustrated by the number of referral requests that are being "bounced" so it probably is not the GP's fault.

There is also a free helpline run by the Patient Association.

Thank you. I hadn’t thought about PALS, and didn’t know there was a helpline.

Primrose53

Flippinheck

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

I’m not so sure the Dr has given you the correct advice. We paid for a private hospital consultation and still use the NHS. My late friend paid for a private scan, got the result in 48 hours and was then treated in the NHS.

I appreciate it might vary in different areas. Wouldn’t hurt to double check.

I share your concerns about reducing waiting lists. What is also happening now is getting people to agree to have follow up appointments by phone rather than going to hospital and actually meeting your Consultant. I don’t agree with that either.

My son was supposed to see his Consultant a couple of weeks ago for the first time since he started chemo in January. We were all looking forward to finally meeting him, him getting a proper examination and an opportunity to discuss how he is feeling and for him to arrange a scan to see if chemo is working. It takes an hour to get to hospital so we just had our coats on to leave, the phone rang and the Consultant said he wanted to do a phone call instead! He just asked how son was and he was so surprised he just said OK, which he really isn’t and he asked if he felt he could endure the remaining chemo sessions and he said he hoped so. That was it! I think that is shocking and had it been me I would have said “too late, I’m on my way.” He has never even set eyes on my son so how can he tell if he’s doing OK?

And I thought I couldn’t be more shocked. That is awful. My heart is with your so , and you,

Have you contacted PALS (The NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Service) ? I know GPs are getting frustrated by the number of referral requests that are being "bounced" so it probably is not the GP's fault.

There is also a free helpline run by the Patient Association.

Areas must vary a lot because here in my area in the south east, we can self refer for physiotherapy and I have never been refused when I’ve popped in to one in our nearest town.

A few years ago, knowing I was heading for a hip replacement, to speed things up I paid to have a scan done privately at our large NHS hospital, and then a few months later my hip was done under the NHS but at a private hospital.

I’m sorry you seem to be stuck. I hope you don’t have to wait too much longer for an improvement.

Flippinheck

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

I’m not so sure the Dr has given you the correct advice. We paid for a private hospital consultation and still use the NHS. My late friend paid for a private scan, got the result in 48 hours and was then treated in the NHS.

I appreciate it might vary in different areas. Wouldn’t hurt to double check.

I share your concerns about reducing waiting lists. What is also happening now is getting people to agree to have follow up appointments by phone rather than going to hospital and actually meeting your Consultant. I don’t agree with that either.

My son was supposed to see his Consultant a couple of weeks ago for the first time since he started chemo in January. We were all looking forward to finally meeting him, him getting a proper examination and an opportunity to discuss how he is feeling and for him to arrange a scan to see if chemo is working. It takes an hour to get to hospital so we just had our coats on to leave, the phone rang and the Consultant said he wanted to do a phone call instead! He just asked how son was and he was so surprised he just said OK, which he really isn’t and he asked if he felt he could endure the remaining chemo sessions and he said he hoped so. That was it! I think that is shocking and had it been me I would have said “too late, I’m on my way.” He has never even set eyes on my son so how can he tell if he’s doing OK?

I ruptured mine completely and it was sewn back together. I spent five months in total in plaster with my toe pointing down and had to go back frequently to have the plaster changed so they could slowly raise the toes to allow more strain on the tendon. It's a horrible injury and I'm afraid the recovery is very long. If you have a partial tear, the treatment is less dramatic and requires rest, elevation and a gradual controlled return to walking which can take up to a year. I know because unfortunately my repair tore partially and I have a huge hole in the tendon. Mine hasn't healed because it was scar tissue that tore but a healthy tendon should eventually repair but it's very slow because the blood supply to the achilles is poor. I'm afraid time, rest and care is the solution unless you have a complete rupture and tbh that's pretty obvious as you are completely unable to walk. I got physio through my GP when I had the partial tear and they suggested using a heel lift to take some of the pressure off the tendon, I found it reduced the pain considerably.

I’m not knowledgeable at all about the NHS - luckily, I’ve avoided most of it for years!

Seriously though, my hypochondriac friend refers herself for almost continuous physiotherapy - at the moment it’s her hands, last time, it was her back. She also gets x-rays, blood tests, urine dips and scans on demand!

I’m sorry for your situation Flippinheck - it’s obvious the NHS treatment in different areas varies so much.

I cannot believe that a GP Referral for a scan, has been denied.
I am totally disgusted by your Hospital Trust. Any referral by a GP , should be acted upon asap.
Really sorry and shocked to hear this.

for Flippinheck

This sunny weather doesn’t help as you want to get out and about but can’t. Things always take longer to heal as you get older but with an Achilles tendon tear which can take up to 6 months or even a year I would have thought physio was now an essential part of the healing process. It’s really rotten if you can’t get this and totally unacceptable, even dare I suggest ageist. Could you afford to pay privately? If so I would recommend someone who has trained in sports injuries as they will be very knowledgeable and experienced with Achilles tendon problems.

Flippinheck I am sorry you are in pain. My other half has long standing Achilles problem (ruled him out of high level competetive sprinting in his younger days). He finds that as others have said the exercises on the internet are very good. My daughter is a runner too who seems to need regular physio. In this area you can refer yourself. I know physio is expensive but you may only need a couple of sessions to get you on the road to recovery. I hope rest and relief starts to make some difference. Best wishes. xx

Isn’t it strange that GP’s surgeries have such different outcomes?
Apparently ours has a physiotherapist who is not too busy. I got an appointment at a time that suited me very quickly. Like Primrose’s he gave me a sheet of excercises! My hip is almost better but still has twinges.

Elless

Surely you can self refer for physio? My husband had achilleas tendon surgery and it really does take a long time to repair, I only recently found out that apparently ligaments and tendons don't have a blood supply unlike muscles and that is why they take so long. I really feel for you 💐

You can self refer but that doesn’t mean you will be accepted. I don’t know if this area of the NW is particularly strict compared to others. It’s true that ligaments and tendons don’t have a good blood supply so take longer to heal. I am diabetic so injuries take even longer to heal. Ah well, onwards and upwards.

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

Surely you can self refer for physio? My husband had achilleas tendon surgery and it really does take a long time to repair, I only recently found out that apparently ligaments and tendons don't have a blood supply unlike muscles and that is why they take so long. I really feel for you 💐

Could you afford to have a scan done privately?
I believe they are in the region of about £200.
I most certainly would in your situation.
You need to know what’s going on and whether physiotherapy is advised.

Seven months seems a long time although I know it’s not a quick fix.