My “nice” day at the NHS Soho clinic

Yes I am not feeling very well. This bladder infection is a lot worse this time and the pain just stopped me from working so at the praising of one of my colleagues I left work to come to the Soho Walk in Centre. I mean it should be very easy – a nurse will see me and then prescribe antibiotics. But as I walk into the centre I knew it will not be as easy. The waiting area is full of people! Who would’ve thought? After completing the required form I asked about the waiting time and she said around 2 hours…Guess my boss will not be very happy!
So then after waiting for half an hour to be seen by a triage nurse – feeling like in ER hihi – that scribble something on my form and sent me away without forgetting to say that I will be seen in about 1.5-2 hours. Seriously? For a bladder infection? Hey! I’m in pain here! It doesn’t take longer than a couple of minutes to take the test and decide if it’s bladder infection or not. But what can I say? I need the bloody antibiotics so I have to endure the pain and the wait!
So that brings me to now when I am sitting here and writing this. It’s weird…they are so many people but it is very quiet! Only two girls chatting in a corner and a couple that is exchanging timid kisses. Every now and then you can here a nurse calling and walking around. So strange.
I never thought there will be a walk in clinic in Soho but well what was I thinking?!? Of course there is one!
Yey! For a second I got very excited as the phone was showing 3G – very disappointed now though…it just shows an 0….
My stomach is rumbling…I’m so hungry! I should’ve eaten before! I’m starving!
…just texted my husband the shopping list…doing that made me feel even more hungry!
Geeh! It will be a lot easier to satisfy my hunger if I wasn’t on a diet but I am. They have lollies at the pharmacy but the diet doesn’t allow it! Why they don’t sell chicken? The triage nurse made very clear that I should stay in the room and not go anywhere…Wonder if I could sneak out though?.. Do you think anybody will notice? They have security guards everywhere do they might do…Hm…
One by one the people that were here
when I arrived seem to disappear for a consult…but only half an hour past since I’ve been in…the nurse said I need to wait more than that 🙁
There are maybe 4-5 people in front of me…maybe it will take only another half an hour to get in…will see… So annoyed I can’t use Internet!
…only 15 minutes later and I lost my patience completely! I’m holding in my hand the container the nurse gave me to fill in (you know what)…and it gets warmer and warmer in my hand! There are a few other ladies holding a container like me. They must have the same thing. Maybe? Hm… Is bladder infection so common? Probably it is! I mean I had my last one at Christmas but tried to cure it naturally as I wasn’t in London either and…maybe is just not cleared up since then?!? In a way I hope is just bladder infection and not something else more horrible than this.
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And….several hours later…I am now at home but I spent a long time at the clinic. My total wait was 3 hours and 45 minutes….I do wonder why I stayed there so long…well I was just hoping I would be seen faster.
I am ashamed to say but I cried even. I was so bloody frustrated I could scream. Oh well… By the time the nurse saw me I was sleepy, dizzy and thirsty. I was starving so badly but I was told I had to stay there. Stupid me! Others kept going out and coming back but I was in such a pain I couldn’t move!
I was given 6 pills of antibiotics for 7.49£ – I think that is how much it was??? The infection is suppose to stop in about 24 hours…will I be in pain that long?
After all that I really didn’t feel like going back to work for a half an hour so I took the tube home. Bliss to catch a sit and be warm again! Now I’m sitting in bed with a hot water bottle between my legs hoping that this nightmare will be over soon!
And NO I really don’t like NHS right now! One of the reasons the Walk in Clinic in Soho was so busy is because the Liverpool Street and Victoria closed down because of the cuts. So all the patients are using the Soho clinic. In a way I was lucky I work just around the corner but….I really like the wait. So for the long wait I blame the NHS cuts and the fact that my GP didn’t have any appointments for me until next week!
Avoid going in the Soho Walk in Centre as the wait is in excess of 4 hours…not happy at all…