I went to York A & E on the night of 21st June 2014 with a suspected broken rib and I was in a lot of pain. The doctor I saw refused to give an X-Ray (as they can't do anything about it anyway) but examined me and said it wasn't broken, I found this hard to believe and was clearly distressed and in pain. He gave me a dose of painkillers and sent me off saying I had muscle damage and it should heal within 5 days or maybe quicker. I had told him that I did a physical job (Outdoor Instructor) and he said I should be back at work after a week or sooner. I then went to a doctors at home (Cornwall) to get some strong painkillers prescribed, as the doctor at A & E didn't even do this, she also booked me in for an X-Ray. A week later I went back to work (thinking it should be okay), doing climbing etc. It got really painful afterwards which made me think it was in fact broken. I then went for the X-ray (which the doctor in York had refused to do), this confirmed that it was broken! And this hospital (Stratton) gave me an information sheet telling me what I should do to look after myself and make sure it heals as quickly as possible (another thing the doctor at York A & E didn't do) They recommended I had 4-6 weeks off work and rested. I was given no information in York about how to deal with a rib injury and was given the wrong diagnosis, this caused me to put myself at risk by 1) driving 6hours home the day after I'd broken it! 2) doing physical activity/work too soon. It also has prolonged the healing process and caused me to have longer off work. The broken rib wasn't diagnosed till 10 days after I did it! I am still in pain and feel that going to York A & E was a complete waste of time and the doctor didn't take me seriously.
"Didn't recognise a broken rib and offered little..."
About: York Hospital York Hospital York YO31 8HE
Posted via nhs.uk
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