A YOUNG woman whose lung collapsed while out drinking cocktails was dismissed by a 'careless' doctor.

Olivia Smith, 22, said the medic "didn't know what he was looking for" after he told her there was no sign of lung issues on her x-ray.

"I felt frustrated, I knew that he didn't know what he was talking about," the social media marketer said, whose lung had collapsed twice before.

The East Londoner said she was dressed up as she'd been out for a meal in Shoreditch, London, to celebrate a pal's birthday on October 21.

As she ordered a porn star martini, she felt a "distinctive pain" and knew immediately her lung had collapsed – a condition medically known as a pneumothorax.

It occurs when air is trapped between a lung and the chest wall, the NHS says.

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"It's pressure on the chest and loss of breath," Olivia said.

"It hurts to laugh and to cough and I get a shooting pain in the middle of my chest.

"It's a very similar pain to a heart attack."

Olivia rushed to the urgent treatment centre (UTC) at Queen’s Hospital in Romford, and told staff she knew her lung had collapsed before being fast-tracked for an x-ray.

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After waiting nearly three hours, Olivia says she was told by a doctor there was no sign of a lung collapse on her scans and she was advised to go home and return if the pain worsened.

She said: "There was no point in trying to win the battle, and I couldn't even talk properly.

"It was 1am, people were waiting behind me, and I looked okay to him.

"He wanted me out the door."

Before leaving the hospital, Olivia took a picture of the x-ray and later realised the image clearly showed a deflated lung.

After the pain worsened, the young woman returned to the UTC the next day where she said a repeat x-ray showed her collapse had worsened.

Doctors confirmed her lung had collapsed to 80 per cent capacity and were stunned she had previously been sent home.

Olivia has since filed a complaint about her ordeal.

"It's obvious to every doctor. It's obviously deflated, he was being careless. He just didn't believe me," she explained.

Olivia says she was blue-lighted to St Bartholomew's Hospital, where she was treated for 10 days before having surgery on her lung.  

"I'm grateful for the NHS but why did I have to deal with a doctor who doesn't know what he's talking about?" she said.

This is the third time Olivia has suffered from a collapsed lung.

The second time it happened, it collapsed to just a five per cent capacity – leaving it the size of a testicle.

A video of her discussing her recent experience on TikTok went viral, racking up 840,000 views and more than 27,000 likes and comments.

One user wrote: "I truly believe young women are always misdiagnosed and not taken seriously!"

Another commented: "Doctors shouldn’t be interpreting x-rays it should be a reporting radiographer.

"Very surprised they missed something so obvious."

A spokesperson for the Partnership of East London Cooperatives (PELC) said: "We are very sorry to hear this patient was unhappy with the service she received at our urgent treatment centre and we apologise for any anxiety or distress she may have experienced.

"We are unable to discuss individual cases but we always strive to provide the highest quality care and all complaints received are thoroughly investigated so any issues raised can be addressed and any lessons learned can be fully implemented to help drive improvements.

"Our UTC at Queen's Hospital can get extremely busy at times, with high demand during peak periods.

"However, all patients are medically assessed as soon as possible following arrival so they can be prioritised in line with clinical needs to ensure that those who need care most urgently can be seen first."

Pneumothorax symptoms

Common symptoms of a collapsed lung include:

• Sharp chest or shoulder pain, made worse by a deep breath or a cough
• Shortness of breath
• Nasal flaring (from shortness of breath)

Source: NHS

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