Audio Stories

Paul Atherton FRSA – ‘Getting to see the doc…or not’


Reported by Paul

Published on Thursday, March 4th, 2021

Covid 19 Healthcare Access Physical Health
Audio Stories

Paul Atherton FRSA – ‘Getting to see the doc…or not’


Written by Paul

Published on Thursday, March 4th, 2021

Covid 19

Healthcare Access

Physical Health

 

 

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT:  I’ve been asked if I’ve been able to make an appointment with my GP during lock down. I sort of have. I’ve talked about my mental health in another contribution but my physical health is a huge concern. I’ve got moles that itch, I’ve got an ulcer on my buttock, I’m not entirely sure why it’s there. Moles that itch are always a concern for cancer, I am of an age now where I should be getting my prostate checked but I haven’t been to or seen a doctor for nearly two and a half years. Obviously a year of that is due to Covid.

My mental health is at least being addressed in some form but the physical health is something that is just impractical for me to deal with. My chronic fatigue often means that if I reach out to someone, it’s kind of ‘hey, can you sort this problem for me’ and if what comes back is ‘yeah, we can refer you to someone who can help you…it’s like, ‘errr…that’s enough.’

That’s not what I asked. I asked you to help. What’s actually required is ‘hey Paul there’s a doctor round the corner, we’ll send him over or if you can get there, there’s an appointment at 10am this morning’- BANG BANG BANG. Anything that puts another layer of bureaucracy or another layer of me having to do something is gonna get dropped instantaneously and you just go ‘I’ll wait until I’m being rushed into A&E.’ Cuz it’s the only thing that makes sense,  otherwise it’s just another battle. And I’m going ‘I’m asking for assistance, I don’t need another battle.’

So, I haven’t actually heard from my GP. I’ve written to them a number of times during lock down. My adult social worker has been in touch, they have made a referral to the mental health team but again I’ve not heard anything from them which concerns me greatly because I had a great relationship with my G.P and the surgery for over a decade but there have been some changes both in the medical staff and in the administrative staff and they did something quite bad last year with the DWP, basically not answering a question properly, not understanding that the DWP are looking for any excuse not to pay benefits. They were asked a closed question and instead of caveating that closed question they said ‘yes’. So the question is ‘can Mr Atherton get to the practice’ and they said ‘yes’. What they meant to say was yes, when he is able to move but that’s not an option that was given. They were given yes or no. So obviously, if you’ve only got a binary response, the benefit of the patient and the claimant you should always answer to the negative if on the worse day it is not possible.

If you understand how the process works that’s an easy one to resolve. If you don’t, like this particular individual, who had never seen me as a patient, decided to respond and that’s caused a huge knock on problem with benefits and everything else. I raised a complaint and since doing that the relationship with the practice has declined immensely.

So, I haven’t seen a doctor. I should have done, numerous times. I did reach out to various charities but like I said they just pass you on to someone else and as soon as anyone does that it’s game over because I only have enough energy to reach out once.

 

Written by Paul


Paul Atherton FRSA is a social campaigning film-maker, playwrightauthor & artist. His work has been screened on the Coca-Cola Billboard on Piccadilly Circus, premiered at the Leicester Square Odeon Cinema, his video-diary has been collected into the permanent collection of the Museum of London, he is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and was selected as one of the London Library's 2021/22 emerging writers during covid lockdown, where he is currently writing his memoir.

He achieved most of this whilst homeless, an ongoing experience that has been his life for over a decade in London. In the last two years he’s made Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 his bedroom and became part of what he coined the #HeathrowHomeless before being moved into emergency hotel accommodation for the duration of Covid-Lockdown in Marylebone on 3rd April 2020.

In the past ten years he’s experienced every homeless initiative that Charities, Local Authorities and the City has had to offer. All of which clearly failed.

With the end of “Everyone In”, Paul has no idea where his next move is going to be, but he expects he’ll be returning to Heathrow.

Read all of Paul's articles

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Covid 19 Healthcare Access Physical Health