Elena’s story: Fighting to be heard
Navigating a new country with little knowledge of how services work can be challenging and having little control over where you live means healthcare can become a postcode lottery.
Elena’s story demonstrates how inconsistent the quality of NHS healthcare can be and the real impact that poor care can have on people's lives. Her experiences show why it is so important that healthcare professionals listen to their patients and that good care is available to everyone, no matter where they live.
Elena’s journey
When Elena first came to England 6 years ago, she and her family were placed in a hostel in the Midlands. Having moved to Rotherham shortly afterwards, Elena’s initial experience of accessing healthcare was very positive:
However, having moved house, Elena and her family had to register with a new GP surgery that was closer to their new home. Unfortunately, the treatment that she received from her new surgery was an entirely different experience.
The struggle to be heard
For the past 4 years, Elena has suffered from continuous water infections that leave her distressed and in “awful pain”. Despite repeated contact with her GP practice, Elena feels that she isn’t taken seriously and the staff there don’t listen to her. She told us:
The antibiotics that Elena has repeatedly been given, have caused her further problems due to their side effects. When she has tried to raise her issues with her surgery she has just been dismissed. Elena feels she has been treated differently to English patients in her surgery and has noticed how staff smile and respond in a friendlier way to them than they do to other nationalities. Elena speaks of having to adjust her behaviour to try to get the treatment she needs.
“I have to change how I speak to health care workers. If I use better words and choose them carefully I feel they may listen more, but why do I have to try to be someone else?”
Having found that she felt more comfortable talking to certain doctors at her surgery, Elena tried to request appointments with them. Although patients don’t have the right to see a specific doctor, surgeries should make reasonable efforts to accommodate requests. In Elena’s case, her requests were ignored and she was forced to see lots of different doctors which she felt didn’t help her situation.
The impact on her life
The lack of help Elena has experienced over the past 4 years has had a profound effect on her life.
Continuous flare ups have forced her to take time off work to sort out her health and recently she felt she had no choice but to leave her job. Her everyday life has been impacted through the pain she has endured. Struggling to sleep or even unable to cuddle her little brother, Elena’s mental health has suffered. On her worst days, Elena confesses she feels that she’d “rather be dead than in this pain”.
I shouldn’t have to beg
Elena’s story is one of frustration and disappointment. Healthcare services that should have been there to help her, failed to listen and take swift enough action. Thankfully, Elena has finally been given a scan and been referred for further investigation but in her words…
“I just would like people to try to understand me and give me a bit more time.
I sometimes feel judged.
I want them to take action.
I shouldn’t have to beg to be helped”
It doesn’t seem too much to ask does it?
It’s not just Elena…
Across the country we hear that when people from ethnic minority groups use primary care services, they often face unfair, disrespectful or rude treatment. Staff may also not listen to patients. Unconscious (or conscious) bias can lead to patients not being taken seriously and pain being dismissed. This means they aren’t offered the right treatments such as in Elena’s case.
In England and Wales, the 2021 census shows that 25.7% of the population are from ethnic minority groups. In Rotherham, 9% of the population fall into this group. Although our local figures are lower than the national statistics, we know that these groups still face inequalities when they try to access healthcare.
Those who have arrived here as refugees or asylum seekers are often subject to even further challenges. Between April to June 2024, there were 674 supported asylum seekers living in Rotherham. Additionally, 15 unaccompanied asylum seeking children were transferred into the borough over the last 12 months. Rotherham has also seen 44 refugees resettled here since 2014.
Do you have a story you wish to share with us? Let us know your experiences.
