Still can't quite believe the ambulance service said 'we can't help you' :-O

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DC2 (young adult) woke me at 6.30 this morning in severe abdominal pain. I ran through the usual things: painkillers, constipation etc.
By 7.30 it had escalated (pain score 8), so I called 111. They advised that DC needed to have help: they would call back within the hour or send a non-urgent ambulance. Advised if pain worsened to call 999. Happy with that although not good to see DC so unwell.
30 mins later pain had increased - DC slapping themselves on the leg to try to distract from the pain and in clear distress, so called 999. Ran through symptoms with them, told them 111 had advised to call.
Their response after asking questions: 'we can't help you'.
Luckily 111 called back five minutes later so I told them what had happened. They sent an ambulance which attended. Advised to take DC straight to A&E as symptoms weren't giving a clear picture as to what was wrong, clearly needed to be seen, but not at death's door just yet. (I don't have an issue with this but did tell them I was concerned at driving quite a distance with someone so unwell in the car in my own.)
We duly attended and the upshot was that DC has what used to be called a 'grumbling appendix'. We were told symptoms may well recur and to attend A&E if they do. (By this point the pain had settled a lot due to codeine.)

I've never experienced this before - the 999 call handler had no way of knowing nothing serious was wrong with DC, yet still gave me a flat no - and I was told to ring by 111. (And DC could have had a ruptured appendix, given their pain and symptoms.)
I don't know why I'm posting except to get it off my chest, but I am wondering if the call handler needs to have a bit more training?

I’ve driven dd, sobbing with abdo pain, to the hospital by myself. It was appendicitis. Never crossed my mind to ring an ambulance. I was fairly sure it was appendicitis and the quickest way to get her there, get her seen, treated and out of pain was driving myself. A young person with abdominal pain is exceedingly unlikely to be a life threatening issue.

I’ve even driven her myself when she was sobbing with chest pain as I decided at 16yo it was unlikely to be a heart attack.

The cost of a taxi would have been far less than the cost of an ambulance.

Pre covid I was talking to a paramedic and they said between the hours of midnight and six am there is just 1 ambulance to cover over 400 thousand people.
Not all ambulances have paramedic, some are ambulance technicians that aren't trained to the same level so can not do some of the jobs.
I asked what would happen if they needed more than one ambulance and paramedics and the reply was to hope the surrounding areas could send some.

I can't imagine that things have improved.

It doesn't sound like an ambulance was appropriate, so I'm not sure what the issue is, especially as you had a way to transport them.

This was not an ambulance situation, you should have driven him.

I had appendicitis during lockdown 1 and our local hospital didn't have enough staff to take it out so I had to go to a hospital 30 mins away. Even though my mum was there with her car keys ready to take me, the hospital refused and said it was too dangerous in case it ruptured. So no, I don't think you are or were being unreasonable.

If an appendix ruptures it needs removing. The paramedics won’t be doing that in the back of an ambulance. By the time you’ve rung 111, rung 999, rung 111, waited for an ambulance and then being driven there you could have been there yourself. 🤷‍♀️

Totally understandable you were panicking OP, but for next time, ambulances are for those in a life threatening emergency- a taxi is how most people would do this if they wanted their DC to get to hospital and couldn’t drive or wanted to sit with them. I’ve done both - once in a cab with a bleeding wound (wrapped in a carrier!) and once with abdominal pain in my car. But more importantly, how are they?

I was suprised to see your update that it was 30 mins drive. I thought you were going to say it was an hour or more.

Definitely would expect you to have driven them under the circumstances.

The call handler was right, I’m afraid - my father had a suspected stroke two weeks ago, and we still had to wait 2 hours for an ambulance - he is completely disabled, so unable to bundle him into my car on my own…

A 30 minute drive in a rural area is nothing - you are using this as an excuse. If you had really been worried about your son (rather than being affronted that an ambulance wasn’t instantly being dispatched to you), you would have automatically driven him to hospital. If you can’t , then I suggest you plan for the event that you will have to… or move house to an area where you can drive should you need to in an emergency…

I’ve been out on shifts with paramedics before and we’ve been the only ambulance in the county…..and it’s a very big county. And then we’ve been called to the next county leaving no ambulances.

I don’t think you’d horrible person, I think you were an overwhelmed and panicking.

I think that it would be very useful to have a public health campaign about what to do in medical emergencies. Ambulances are for those having a heart attack, bleeding uncontrollably etc. Going to A&E, preferably after calling 111 as they can speed up admission when necessary, is for this kind of situation.

I'm also not sure why an ambulance was necessary. I had appendicitis aged 11 and my mum drove me to the hospital (about 25mins drive without traffic, up to 40 at rush hour). I would never dream of calling an ambulance for abdominal pain. People drive their OHs to hospital whilst their in labour?!

To me I'd call an ambulance for: someone showing signs of heart attack or stroke, someone having been hit by a car/someone totally unresponsive. If they are awake and in pain, you drive them to a hospital!

OP no one expected you to make a judgement on it. That’s what the 999 call handler was for and they advised you didn’t need their services. You should have realised then that you should be taking your child to AE yourself. BY clogging up 999 lines and using ambulances when not necessary, you are reducing a person with a life threatening condition with a chance of survival.

The ambulance service is not a taxi service.

I’d have driven them myself , it wouldn’t cross my mind to call an ambulance unless I was physically unable to get someone there myself ie someone who has fallen and can’t get up / unconscious . When my son was 17 and had his tonsils out he had a post op bleed on the first night and I drove him to hospital .

Had a situation recently where customer died (expected death). Rang 999, as instructed, for paramedics to come and confirm death. Was told the expected wait would be 10 hours. They then called back to say no ambulance would attend. Don't know who eventually confirmed the death, maybe the GP.?

DH had a ruptured appendix as a young adult. Not only did his mum drive him to hospital, she refused to pay for the hospital car park and so made him walk 2 streets to A+E.

She did have the decency to feel guilty when she heard the diagnosis - he's not let her forget it!

I still sont understand why you didnt drive. Years ago, when my son was 5, he woke in the night screaming and grabbing his stomach. I called for help. Was told ambulance wait would be a long time. I'm a single parent. I put him and my 3 year old in the car and drove to hospital.

My child needed medical attention. An ambulance wasnt coming. So I took him. I dont understand what you mean about not wanting to do it alone? You're the parent. Sometimes you need to do hard, scary things alone. You had a car. You knew help wasnt coming. So you go.

I am surprised you expected an ambulance too. It wouldn't have crossed my mind to call one. Every time an ambulance is sent to someone for non-life threatening illnesses like this it puts those that really do need an ambulance at risk.

To be honest I would have driven to the hospital rather than wait for 111. Until recently I've always lived in the city and it's always quicker to drive rather than wait for an ambulance to attend if it's safe to move them (so obviously not for orthopaedic injuries)

Really, in this situation, your call to 111 is just to tell them what it is and you're on the way to hospital so that if they deem it serious, they can forewarn the hospital.

The call handler sounded very blunt towards someone clearly worried and in distress so I agree that they needed extra training in how to communicate that would've been better.

How did you find out it was a grumbling appendix? I hope they did a CT scan. Is there any way you can just get it taken out so it doesn't happen again?

Paramedic friends of mine are on their knees. Recently we had a patient at our hospital who needed an immediate transfer to another hospital with certain specialist services for a life saving procedure and it was hours before they could arrive. They are stretched beyond belief and many are stuck at hospitals just trying to hand over patients to the emergency department as they are so busy that ambulances are having to wait in a queue!

999 is not the answer to everything. An ambulance and paramedic crew getting called out is not the answer to everything.

@CaitoftheCantii, I'm very sorry to hear about your DDad.
Regarding the rest of your post, are you being deliberately goady? I wasn't affronted, just shit-scared that something was going badly wrong. And if you have a spare 100 grand or two, I'd happily move nearer to the hospital.