When the System Fails the People Who Need It Most

Sometimes I wonder who our healthcare systems are made for — because it often feels like they’re not built for the people who truly need care.

For months, I’ve been getting pain-blocking injections in my neck and lower back. These injections help me sleep, reduce pain, and reduce the numbness in my hands caused by herniated discs pressing on my nerves. They aren’t a luxury. They’re necessary.

And yet, accessing them has become a full-time job.

For every injection, I spend two hours traveling just to get to the orthopedist — only to get a referral that takes five minutes. My GP refuses to write it, even though it’s her responsibility. And now the referral has expired.

When I called my physio, who wrote the original referral to the ortho, he told me the ortho no longer writes these. And he isn’t allowed to.
So here I am again: trying to find a new GP who will write a basic referral for treatment I already know works.

And this isn’t new.

For years, my GP told me not to take pain medication regularly because it’s “addictive” and “only for acute pain.” But no real alternatives were offered.
I was left to manage on my own. And pain meds might not be optimal for chronic pain, because everything has side effects, but they sure help you deal with it.

Then a new gynecologist finally diagnosed me with Adenomyosis and suspected Endometriosis — after 15 to 20 years of being dismissed by my previous one, and 20 years before that by other doctors, and bounced between specialists who said my chronic pain “wasn’t in their area.”

I finally get prescribed chronic pain medication…
and my GP casually says:
“Oh, that’s great for people with Fibro. Lots of them get relief from it.”

So why wasn’t it ever suggested?

Unfortunately, the medication brought a wave of side effects: hair loss, exhaustion, extreme rage episodes, brain fog, mouth Candida — and more.
So I lowered the dose.
And the pain returned in full force.

And I’m left wondering:
Who is this healthcare system made for?

Because it doesn’t feel like it’s made for me.
Or for anyone who actually needs consistent treatment, proper referrals, or supportive care.

Instead, we’re told it’s in our heads, that we’re exaggerating, that the system "can’t" help — all because our pain doesn’t fit neatly into one specialist’s area of expertise. Or because it’s not curable by taking a pill…

We deserve better.
We deserve accessible, compassionate care — not obstacles disguised as procedures.