Aaliyah’s Experience: “I was seen but I was not heard”

Aaliyah is an active and loving mother of four living with neck and shoulder pain from an old injury. Her daily activities often aggravate her injury. “Because I have a three-year-old, he needs lifting, and this makes it worse,” Aaliyah explains. Most days, she can cope with the pain, but on days it flares up, she’s unable to get out of bed meaning she cannot look after her youngest son, Takai, who is on the waiting list to be assessed for autism and needs lots of energy and attention.

In acute pain, Aaliyah went to A&E at Queen Elizabeth Hospital. “I was hesitant because of the waiting time. I was like “Okay, I'm gonna be there a very long time…” At the hospital, Aaliyah waited, crying in pain, drawing the attention of others in the waiting room. After two hours the pain intensified, moving to her chest, making it hard to breathe. “I just sat there crying. Even the nurse was like they really need to take you to scan because you are clearly in pain. And she said she would go tell the doctor about my pain and that the doctor should see me quickly.”

Three hours after seeing the nurse and five hours after arriving at A&E, Aaliyah was called in to see a doctor.

Aaliyah described how rushed the doctor was, which made her feel that her symptoms were not fully considered and that her concerns were not being listened to. She explained to the doctor that her pain felt different and that she couldn't move her neck. The doctor told her the pain would go away and prescribed medication, but no one explained why she wouldn’t get the scan the nurse suggested or why it was not needed – leaving Aaliyah feeling ignored and overlooked, worried she’d not received optimum care.