‘Horrible Hull doctors said I was lying about agonising pain'
MODEL SAYS SHE HAD TO PAY £2.5K FOR A PRIVATE DIAGNOSIS AFTER HOSPITAL STAFF DISMISSED HER FEARS
A HULL hair model claims she had to fork out £2,500 to find out why she was in chronic pain after NHS doctors repeatedly told her there was “not an issue”.
Kate Leyenda, 27, alleges she visited Hull NHS services and called the NHS helpline “40 to 50” times between June and September 2017, explaining to her GP and A&E practitioners she had debilitating pain in her pelvis and upper legs.
It took paying to go privately to be diagnosed, with specialists at The Spire in Anlaby discovering she had endometriosis, a condition where the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body.
The diagnosis brought to an end a summer of anguish in which the self-employed hair model could not work for four months.
She has now accused A&E doctors at Hull Royal Infirmary of being “horrible” to her, telling her they could find nothing wrong and to stop returning.
“The treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary was horrible, and the GP wasn’t great either,” said Mrs Leyenda. “The doctors at A&E kept saying, ‘there is not an issue, why do you keeping coming back?’. I didn’t know what to do.”
Endometriosis, while little known, is said to affect one in ten women of reproductive age in the UK. It can cause chronic pain, a lack of energy, make it harder to conceive or have sex and even cause disability.
Mrs Leyenda said she has been diagnosed with stage four endometriosis – the worst of its type – and will need treatment for the rest of her life.
After her diagnosis, The Spire referred her back to the NHS for follow-up treatment at Castle Hill Hospital, one of 44 specialist units around the country. Mrs Leyenda’s condition was so severe that she had to take six months of hormone injections to bring on the symptoms of menopause early before she could be operated on in April.
“I had to have four months off work because I was literally going to A&E every day – I pretty much had 111 on speed dial at one stage,” said the west Hull resident.
“The doctors were doubtful and saying I was lying, basically. I had to pay to get the operation to get diagnosed. The NHS said they didn’t think I had endometriosis so they wouldn’t pay. They were saying it could be stress or anxiety.
“If I hadn’t paid for it and gone privately I might never have been diagnosed. The pain is already back, so I will probably have to go for more treatment. It can feel like you are fighting a lost cause.”
The Miss England 2009 finalist is now looking to raise awareness of the condition, both in the city and nationally, with the help of her MP, Emma Hardy. On average, it takes a woman seven-and-a-half years to be diagnosed with endometriosis.
Hull has a specialist nurse based at Castle Hill, but Mrs Leyenda, while praising the “fantastic” care given to her after diagnosis, said getting in contact could be difficult because the demand is high for the single nurse’s services.
Supported by Ms Hardy, Mrs Leyenda, known as Kate Palmer professionally, has arranged a “Pink Pants” event at Bean and Nothingness café in Whitefriargate on Monday, October 1, from 10am to 11.30am.
The pair want to use it as a chance for women to learn more about endometriosis, its symptoms and “ending the shame” of talking about women’s health issues.
Ms Hardy said Mrs Leyenda’s story “chimed” with her after campaigning against the use of vaginal mesh, an implant that left some women in constant pain.
“It feels like women have to battle when it comes to their health,” said the Hull West and Hessle MP.
“Like with mesh, there hasn’t been enough research into endometriosis. There are only 44 specialist centres in the UK and there is only one specialist nurse in the Humber.”
The city MP said she would be seeking a meeting with education secretary Damian Hinds to urge him to include menstrual health as part of the curriculum in primary schools, so prepubescent girls can be taught about “what a normal period is”.
The Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill hospitals, said it was “unable to comment on individual cases because of strict rules governing confidentiality”.
But consultant gynaecologist Kevin Phillips, a nationally-recognised specialist in endometriosis at the trust, accepted women often faced delays of between five to seven years before diagnosis.
Mr Phillips said: “Endometriosis can be a complex, debilitating condition which is not easy to treat. This is recognised nationally and internationally.
“Specialists are trying hard, with the help of charities, to get all medical professionals to recognise the possibility of this diagnosis at the earliest possible stage.
“Once a woman is referred to a gynaecologist, the diagnostic time is actually quite short, but getting referred to a specialist in the first place can be difficult because of the complexity of the condition.”
The treatment at Hull Royal Infirmary was horrible, and the GP wasn’t great either. The doctors at A&E kept saying, ‘there is not an issue, why do you keeping coming back?’ Kate Leyenda, 27, pictured