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

[mineofuselessinformation]

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?

NO the call handler doesn't need anymore training - they did their job and handled the call, they are not medical advisors. As stated earlier, they work from a script, they are unable to deviate and actually get marked down by quality assurance if they ask their own questions (Even if it's the right ones)

The pressure that control room staff are under is beyond enormous, they literally cannot answer the phones quick enough in my trust, pie charts constantly in the red, massively understaffed and yes actually listening to people die over the phone because there are no ambulances to send. That used to be a rare occurrence, now it's daily. Imagine what that does to a person who is just trying to do their job without the resources they need.

I'm fucking glad I'm road staff and even that's pretty shit right now.

Show the call handlers some respect, don't assume they need more training because you didn't get what you want.

I’ve known a few people who never drive more than 10 mins away from home.
If you’re used to a busy 45 min commute (like I am) on country roads, through a busy town, on the motorway, through a city it’s hard to understand.

@Prescottdanni123, no they never asked.

Sorry OP but I agree with others, I would have just driven my DC to A and E. I actually had to do that in the middle of the night once on my own with DH. He had a kidney stone and was in agony but we had no idea what it was.

I think part of the problem is that bloody BBC Ambulance programme. All the paramedics are so lovely and nothing is ever any trouble and they have a laugh and so if there is ever any kind of middling health issue the default seems to be call 999 rather than think can I get this neighbour/ elderly relative to hospital myself. I find it weird really because my first thought would always be to drive someone to A and E even before the current crisis (and I live rurally about 45 mins from the nearest A and E - there is one closer but it's only open 8 am to 10pm).

[quote mineofuselessinformation]@SoapyWit East Anglia.
I agree that I should say something.DC's life could have been in danger. Who knows how many other poor buggers got left with no help?[/quote]
I feel you pain. My son was in EA and he had an asthma attack full on - maybe used the blue inhaler 20-30 times whilst on the 999 call - repeatedly told it had been sent and would be there in minutes. He was struggling to breathe. Repeatedly cancelled. Eventually the local GP who lived next door looked after him in the back of the car was he was driven by GPS wife to QE hospital. He was immediately admitted and spent 5 days in hospital. Never found out what the hell happened with the ambulance or why it was repeatedly cancelled.

I had an experience in QE that was thoroughly traumatic and awful. Not going to go into it here. Complaint was upheld in every area by pals - how they didn’t kill me I don’t know but I was lucky to survive. Staffing is a real issue.

I had a very similar experience, I complained straight away following the 999 complaints procedure for our area, friend was told to take himself to hospital, he could barely breathe, let alone stand up or walk, called 111 who sent a non emergency ambulance who them called an ambulance, and he was rushed to hospital with a clot on his lung and spent 2 weeks in hospital, he told me the same, 'we can't help everyone' the complaints procedure was quick, and I was very impressed with the way they handled it.

@Hellocatshome

*There really aren't paramedics and surgeons hovering about like on Casualty and Holby City outside A&E.

When you get in, there is just an ambulatory queue for reception. You queue for however long it takes to give your details and then you sit and wait for a triage nurse to come through and call you through a massive closed door.

Then they decide what to do with you.*

This is not true, I took my DS to A&E on the advice of the GP, by the time we got there he was unconscious and looked very grey. I carried him in and in before I knew what was happening the receptionist had come out from beind her desk and physically pushed me through some doors where a nurse or Dr took DS from me and suddenly everyone descended on us and luckily after a scary few days DS was ok. It was actually very much like Casualty. The reason why it normally seems like a very slow moving boring process is because generally most people who turn up at A&E are not in urgent need of treatment.

This. Most people that go to A&E don’t need to be there. End of

What I mean is, they don’t need an ambulance to take them

@itispersonal

I don't think I would have called 999 I would have taken him to a&e myself. Was this not an option for you?

I agree. If you have your own transport, it’s sensible to take this option, leaving ambulances available for those who don’t.

Sounds like you’ve been through a lot but I would’ve thought this would make you more likely to want to get to hospital!

And also not to want to take up an ambulance with a non-emergency, when you have experienced actual emergencies.

Suffering from anxiety and visual impairment make handling illness harder, but they are still not a reason for a 999 response to a non-emergency. Your DS is an adult and had the huge advantage of having an another adult with a car at hand, to help him. Tens of thousands of people are in more difficult situations than this, but still manage to get themselves to A&E. It's ridiculous to suggest that two adults cannot get themselves to hospital in a car because one of them suffers with anxiety.

Have you remembered we are in the middle of a pandemic with the highest ever reported cases ?

The NHS is on there KNEES!

It was Pain…

Not chest pain…

I would of drove him myself, rather than waiting around for 111.

If the pain settled with Codeine, im sorry, but it couldnt of been that bad
And def not enough to warrant an Ambulance

@FrankiesCheeseTruckle amen to that. Our boards are always in the red, we have so much staff sickness and isolating. Senior management are throwing around overtime like confetti - but nobody wants it, it's such a stressful environment.
One of our call handlers recently got told she has to take "one more call" before she was allowed to go to the loo - and it's not like you get to choose the duration and nature of your next 999 call to make sure it's a quick one

If someone is querying about the parking situation and wondering where to park for the best if they have to drive, your loved is unlikely to need an ambulance!

In an emergency situation life and death it would be fight or flight… you’d dump the car and deal with that another time

@Nailsbythesea, no, it wasn't that hospital. I am very aware of their reputation and it's clear changes need to be made (I also know people who work there and they feel the same).
I'm sorry you and yours had bad experiences there.

What happened was awful and scary and nobody would wish it, but ambulances are not for this situation and you should not call one in this situation. I don’t think you’ve had a kicking - I think the majority of people told you they’d have gone in the car, because that’s the right thing to do. 30 mins? Unless the person is going to stop breathing or is too ill to move - Go!!

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. At the time, OP didn't know that it was a grumbling appendix. She isn't a trained medic so she didn't know how much of an emergency it was. She didn't know anything except her child was in a lot of pain and she had been advised to call 999 if their condition got worse. She followed advice. I don't blame her for not wanting to drive due to worry that they would get even worse while she was behind the wheel.

@DaphneDeloresMoorhead seriously, hats off to you guys at the moment, it sounds horrendous.
You know it's not a walk on the park for us road staff but at least we can go to the loo (kind of!) when we want. A quick look around in a pts house will tell me if I need to engage super bladder or not.... 😂

@1WeekTillChristmas, could you point me to where I gave any information about when the codeine was given? Because unless you can, you don't know whether it was before or after we arrived in A&E.

You're having a hard time on here OP, but hopefully by reading this there may be some people - even if it's just one - who may find themselves in a similar position and now knows not to phone an ambulance. I work for the NHS so it's easy to wag the finger at people who've called ambulances unnecessarily. But we're only human, you panicked. Would you do it again? Most probably not.

@Electriq

I had a very similar experience, I complained straight away following the 999 complaints procedure for our area, friend was told to take himself to hospital, he could barely breathe, let alone stand up or walk, called 111 who sent a non emergency ambulance who them called an ambulance, and he was rushed to hospital with a clot on his lung and spent 2 weeks in hospital, he told me the same, 'we can't help everyone' the complaints procedure was quick, and I was very impressed with the way they handled it.

Quite rightly if he couldn't breathe, this on the other hand wasn't an emergency.

@Electriq

OP you’ve taken a bit of a pasting here. It’s scary seeing a loved one so unwell, and you called 999 in a panic when things got worse - something we’re all conditioned to do. I don’t think that makes you a bad person, it’s not your fault that the ambulance service is struggling so badly I hope your DC feels better soon

@lollipopsandrainbows, no, I wouldn't. The difference is that I know that now, but didn't this morning.

[quote mineofuselessinformation]@1WeekTillChristmas, could you point me to where I gave any information about when the codeine was given? Because unless you can, you don't know whether it was before or after we arrived in A&E.[/quote]
I think they meant if he didn’t need anything stronger then it certainly didn’t require an ambulance.
I’ve had headaches that codeine isn’t strong enough for, for example..