Jayne began experiencing worsening back pain, and couldn’t tolerate sitting down. The pain extended from her back into her left leg and foot and Jayne was unable to walk properly. She had difficulty coping with the pain at work. Deteriorating symptoms On 2 June, Jayne made an emergency appointment to see her GP. At the time she saw the GP, she had begun to feel numbness in her saddle area, and she told the GP about the pain in her back travelling down her left leg and into her left foot and the new symptoms of numbness. Although Jayne asked for a referral for an MRI scan and a referral to a back specialist, the GP declined. The GP suggested the back problem would resolve itself, and that she should return in a month for a reassessment. Five days later, Jayne was in so much pain, and the numbness had persisted, and so she attended the Accident & Emergency Department at Royal Berkshire Hospital. She continued to report lower back pain that was shooting down her left leg. She also told the triage nurse that her bottom felt numb, and she was not able to feel passing stools.