Being vile to 111

14 hours is not good by any stretch of the imagination! Although I did once wait 3 days for a call back about my sick 3 month old baby so it could be worse.

The system is appallingly bad and that's why people get annoyed

It's not an irrelevant question though
Had you, in fact had an organ donation then there's a likely hood that you'll be on certain meds which make an infection much more serious than in someone who hasn't had a transplant

Lol. Or maybe they are desperately seeking some kind of healthcare for their young child or elderly relative having tried every avenue several times and been repeatedly fobbed off

Exactly, you waited a mere 14 hours to see a Dr on a Saturday for a sore throat.

@Doingsgirl Ok, well, keep doing what you're doing, clearly the system is great and everybody's happy 🤷‍♀️

If it was that urgent you could have called Friday night. A 14 hour turnaround on a Saturday for a sore throat is pretty good for a Saturday. 🥳

Illness doesn't follow a neat 9-5 Monday-Friday schedule. I'd been to the GP, got antibiotics, finished them, seemed to be getting better. Then from the Friday night symptoms started again and suddenly got worse. Held off until Saturday day time as I thought it would be less busy than a Friday night. Doctor said I'd done the right thing to come in.

I’m a nurse and I feel that. I go home everyday worn out, relatives pour all their emotion at us understandably, but we don’t agree with policies either such as patients being left on coridoors on our ward all day until a discharge later on gives them a bed, it’s out of our control and I wouldn’t want my nana laid on a coridoor either so fully understand but often it feels like they think it’s our decision

The public are vile and the worse society gets the worse it will be for anyone in a public facing role.

People can no longer access the medical care they need when they need it so it’s natural they’re going to be frustrated and vent. The only thing 111 are good at is accessing an out of hrs appointment for young children. If you’re a younger adult or elderly person your aren’t really prioritised and that can be frustrating for people. No excuse for horrible behaviour to staff though

Frustration, fear, stress, pain. It’s the same across healthcare, and many other industries as well. We are never meeting people on their best day.

I do think there is a culture currently that almost despises knowledge - and so asking questions that someone doesn’t understand the purpose of can make them angry. They think there’s nothing you know that they don’t know and so a question that seems pointless to them is a pointless question.

Also I'm not saying I should've been prioritised ahead of someone with more serious symptoms.
I was highlighting why the system is bad. Just to be put through the out of hours GP for a simple thing took nearly 10 hours and lots of back and forth with questions like whether I've had an organ transplant and a bunch of other irrelevant questions.
There must surely be a better way of dealing with things that aren't life threatening but that can't really wait until the regular GP opens.

It’s lack of respect for the call handler

I pay your wage attitude

yes people get frustrated but they still choose to be rude and disrespectful

A theory. Ppl either ring because they're worried and may act irrationally- not saying it's ok but we've all acted out of character when we're in pain/ worried about a loved one. Or they're attention seeking and you don't have time to placate or you're not able to diagnose and have to send them to A&E for something they expect you to help them with. Either way I'm sorry. You deserve better. Try not to take it to heart if you can ❤️

Weeks? Yet you chose to call 111:on a Saturday?

@Doingsgirl ..and this attitude is exactly why you get abuse.
OP asked why people are rude, people, including me, have explained how frustrating the system is from the patients' point of view. You can either take it on board or continue to blame the patients, and nothing changes.

Also, it wasn't a "sore throat", it was bacterial tonsillitis that had been going on for weeks, with 40C fever that wasn't going down for days even with maximum dose Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. If left untreated you can get pretty serious complications like inflammation of the heart.

The dismissive attitude, being treated like our time doesn't matter and the robotic triage by algorithm system is why people don't trust you and are angry on the phone.

You won’t get times of call backs because there’s people out there calling with more serious symptoms than a sore throat who will jump the queue ahead of you. Just like if you were at A & E with a sprained ankle needing an X-ray and an ambulance brings in serious car accident victim.
💯 yes like the time I ran into ED with my 9 month old who was convulsing, and they literally opened the doors to the main treatment bay as they were letting someone else out and had multiple staff jump on him, and I heard someone in the waiting area whine ' there's a queueeee' fucking scariest moment of my life.

Actually sorry.

The process is in my region, you initially speak to a call handler, then you don’t speak to an “admin person” you speak to someone medically trained to further assess your symptoms and then you may get passed on to a GP. You won’t get times of call backs because there’s people out there calling with more serious symptoms than a sore throat who will jump the queue ahead of you. Just like if you were at A & E with a sprained ankle needing an X-ray and an ambulance brings in serious car accident victim.

Missing a call back is still on you though.

I’m sorry, but it’s a problem of your own making if you missed your call back. Not a 111 call handler’s. We can’t telepathically know what the reason for your original call was just from your phone number.

Also a sore throat is a lowest priority call back (unless you can’t swallow) so 14 hours on a Saturday where we have, in my region where we have upwards of 80 calls waiting from 9am is pretty good.

I will admit I was almost rude to a 999 call handler. I had a lady in my care who was frothing at the mouth and turning blue. He very patronisingly asked if I was "sure" that was the case and I'd have to wait at least an hour. I did almost shout "she doesn't have an hour, I know you're busy but please help". He just repeated it wasn't life threatening. I called again, got a different call handler and she was so kind, even waited with me until help arrived and reassured me. So some call handlers are not empathetic at all and causes more stress.

1. Some people are entitled assholes who are rude to everyone that they perceive as "service" staff.

1. Some people are mentally unwell, on drugs or drunk.

1. Even those who are normally reasonable can act out when in pain, scared, stressed, frustrated.

The system itself exacerbates all of these things. It's like a maddening call centre and completely robotic, computer says no set up.
Every time I've called the wait to even be connected has been 30 mins-1hour.
Then you describe your problem and are asked a million questions that seem random and irrelevant (I know you said it's part of the triage system but the general public don't understand how that works).
You're pushed into giving a yes or no answer even when the actual answer is "I'm not sure", "yes but..." or "I'm not having this symptom now but I was earlier". You're worried that because of this you won't get the right help.
The handlers get quite snippy if you can't answer with a firm yes or no.
At this point I'm thinking "just go away and let me speak to someone with medical training", I don't verbalise that but someone less patient might.
After that you wait on hold while they talk to the nurse, then you wait again to be connected to the nurse. You have to repeat a lot of the same information to her/him.
You're told you'll get a call back but they can't give you even an approximate time, you're expected to wait by the phone indefinitely even though you have things to do like take care of a child.
You get a call back eventually, but if you miss it you can't call the number back, just have to wait for them to phone again. It's STIlLL not someone who can help, but yet another admin person who is irate that you missed their call. You have to repeat your problem to them, even though you've already given that information twice. They say the doctor will call you. But they can't tell you when, so you wait by the phone again.
Eventually the doctor calls and you have to repeat your problem for a 4th time that day.

One time I called at 1pm on a Saturday, all I needed was antibiotics for a persistent tonsillitis infection, by the time I got through the system and saw the doctor it was after 11pm. I had to haul my sleeping toddler out of bed and out into the cold winter night as there was no one to mind her at that time.

I know none of that is the call handlers' fault and no one should be abused in their job but I can see why people are pissed off.

Nobody should be being rude to you, OP.

But calling 111 can be a frustrating experience. It's very obvious the call handlers are not medically trained.

I only call 111 if I need an out of hours GP appointment. Otherwise I just go straight to A&E.

They sent my husband to A&E for suspected stroke - he had a migraine with aura (never had one before). They also told me I was fine to care for myself at home - I ended up ignoring them and going to A&E where I was put on a nebuliser because I couldn't breathe properly with an awful virus. The doctor said I had been right to come in.

So I don't trust their algorithms at all.

This is why people get frustrated. Doesn't make it right that you have to listen to it. The system is broken.

This, and so much 'well done!! That'll tell her' applause from mnetters...🙄

I work in the public sector and I have had to move around a bit to find a job that I can believe in. I think all NHS workers have frustrations with the system but most can get behind what they are doing day to day. When it reaches a point where you feel the system just doesn't work, it's not viable to stay in that particular role ime.

its frustration! its not personal, its just sheer exasperation. people cannot get access to proper medical care! its weeks for a Dr's appointment, a&e is ridiculous.. people are genuinely worried that they might actually be very ill and no one will care!

So you think hcp who think the nhs is being operated shittily just now should all leave, rather than do what they can to keep patients at the centre of things?