To think nhs direct hasn't really been thought through.

[JeezyOrangePips]

I was speaking to a friend, who had been away on a camping trip. She ended up in a lot of dental pain.

Her phone was out of battery (nowhere to charge it when you are camping), so she travelled 30 miles to thd nearest hospital (on a Sunday).

They told her she had to go and phone nhs direct.

She went and found a phone box in and called them. They told her they had to speak to an assessor who wasn't available, so they would phone her back within two hours.

Two hours, hanging around a phone box, in a town she doesnt know, while in pain?

Is it just me or should there be some facility to bend the rules in some cases?

I didn't say she was hanging around for 2 hours. I said they would call back within two hours. Yes, the hospital knew she didn't have a phone. They told her where the nearest phone box was.

Just to put the other side...

I've phoned NHS Direct a lot. Every time I've had brilliant advice. Most recently, my son ripped a tooth out (he got it stuck in a goal net - don't ask - pulled his head back and ripped it out. So. Much Blood.). A dental nurse called me back almost as soon as I'd put the phone down, and was on the phone with me for about 15 minutes, telling me what to do and what I should look for.

I've actually never been told to go to A&E.

Some years ago I was working in a city I wasn't familiar with and got crippling stomach pains. Turned out just to be d & v but for a few hours only symptom was the pain and I was concerned may be appendicitis. Didnt want to have to call a taxi or ambulance in the night if it got worse to go to a and e so called nhs direct so they could tell me where a and e was and perhaps where the out of hours walk in was or how to get the out of hours doc out.

I called, they told me I needed to see a doctor within the next 2 hours. I said where, where is a and e etc? They said they didn't know and to ask my hotel reception ( was staying in a rental flat). Pointless.