"A nightmare"

Went to A&E with severe lower back pain, high temperature and fast heartbeat. Can't fault the A&E staff who saw me much quicker than the 5 hour wait time. Was given morphine and antibiotic drip with concerns of a spinal infection (apparently very rare and hard to treat according to the doctor). I was then admitted as an inpatient for an urgent MRI the next morning.

As a 24 y/o female, I was put in mixed gender ward of 80 somethings, who spent all night shouting. I've never felt so out of place or uncomfortable.

The next morning, at about 11, a consultant came by and told me they were discharging me because I 'looked better' (could be the morphine working?!) and I'd have a MRI that same week.

The nurse gave me my discharge letter and paracetamol to go home with. I argued that paracetamol didn't work, which is part of the reason I ended up in hospital in the first place. You could tell the nurse clearly didn't care and I honestly felt like crying in frustration. When I finally got home, my mum read my discharge letter to see that the nurse hadn't noticed the codeine prescription!

Almost 3 weeks later I finally get a MRI because no one in the Egerton Ward thought to put in the request for my so called urgent MRI.

Now I'm being told it's a 6 week wait for Radiology to review my MRI and I could be waiting until July to see the consultant.

All this time I've been signed off work and my limited savings are having to pay for my rent and other living expenses. I also feel forced to pay to see the same consultant privately just so I can get back to work and some normality sooner.

I still have the same symptoms I went in to A&E with, the ones that flagged up huge concern and had me admitted for urgent tests. This whole process is making me anxious, stressed and poor. I do not feel like there has been any communication between departments, and no one is in the slightest bit concerned. I actually feel sick to the stomach worrying that the MRI won't show the problem and I'll need further tests - what then? Another few months wait?