To think NHS 111 is a fucking joke?

[NillyNolly]

I have had the misfortune of experiencing the new NHS 111 service three times in the last week. One of my DC has a compromised immune system so often need out of hours appointments.

Before the 111 service I could call our local out of hours service who would answer straight away, listen to a brief description of symptoms, then make a doctors appointment or get a nurse to call us back. Simple.

With 111 I have waited an average of 20 mins for someone to pick up each time, had to go through all mine and my DS's details about 3 times, then had to answer a series of questions which takes a further 10 minutes ("is he breathing?" ..... Ummm, do you not think I would have perhaps called an ambulance by now if he wasn't....?)

I am so angry and frustrated with this new phone line!!! !!!!

Jaywall - what you wrote implied that NHSD was a regional service along with OOH.

What you should have said is that NHSD was a national service with OOH providing services locally. There is absolutely no reason why NHSD couldn't have integrated with local OOH to provide that bolt on connection between people seeking phone advice and people needing non-emergency treatment. Indeed, they are continuing to provide that service in many regions. As I said in my last post, the only reason they aren't doing so is because of cost and because it suits the government to push that cost onto local CCG budgets.

I do have an idea of how NHSD worked with OOH providers in the past but this wasn't mandated and now it is which is obviously a good thing. So please try not to patronise me.

I agree that linking the service more closely with the local spine will massively improve the service but the fact that the government are seeking to reduce the cost per call to less than half of NHSD's costs by reducing the number of medically trained pros available is going to have an impact on the service OR on the referral rate. It's a false economy

First of all, for an entire system devised by the government/doctors/HCPs to fail, it goes two ways, e.g the newness of 111 vs. the stupidity of the general public. I am a paramedic working for 111, by the way.

Here are some rules I can advise for getting the best out of a very busy and over-abused system.

1. Try to work out what level of treatment you/patient may need before you ring. If someone is clearly having a stroke/heart attack/seizures/is severely injured/severely ill, call 999, not 111. As the advertisement states, 111 is for urgent OOH care, not emergency situations.

1. Similarly, if someone has minor symptoms like a snotty nose, minor cough, fever that has been present for 2 hours, use your common sense or someone else's around you if you haven't got any yourself, if it is serious enough to call for help. If you wouldn't bother family/friends with the issue, why ring an extortionately busy public health service helpline?

In opposition, if one rings up stating that they/the patient have been ill for weeks now and urgently require assistance, the first thing that runs through a call handlers/nurses head is 'why they haven't sorted out their own situation with their GP practices, Walk in Centres etc etc. 'Too busy at work', 'school', 'no time' are not accepted as valid excuses to why some people decide to put their/others health second to other priorities.

1. The process of a 111 call is to take personal details, (to create case records), confirm details (to ensure you get the correct response from a relevant GP/Service in YOUR area) and then the questionnaire based on symptoms mentioned. If you are unhappy with giving details, going through questions designed by doctors and nurses to RULE OUT anything serious to get you the correct level of care, then simply, do not use the service.

1. If you have personal issues e.g no friends or family for support, upset/unwell children, missing prescriptions, lack of medication, severe pain/agitation, it IS NOT the call handlers/nurses/doctors fault. Try your best not to be so rude and you may actually have a chance of receiving very adequate and helpful advice from call handlers as well as medically trained professionals. This of course does not apply to those who already have a polite manner when calling complete strangers and expecting advice on the spot.

1. Halt the whinging and whining about how call handlers are not medically trained. How many GPs/nurses do you think there are in this country? One per person? Use your common sense.

1. Stop telling call handlers/nurses/GPs that you know exactly what is wrong with yourself/the patient. Are you a health care professional with a health care degree? If the answer is no, then your opinion will always be treated as invalid, no matter who you think you are.

In my defence, I'm not saying 111 is great or faultless. Mistakes happen, communication fails, information is misinterpreted by both callers and employees of 111, but there are ways of making systems such as this more manageable and viable to all parties involved. And most of the time, its just the simplest of things that count.

Are you having a bad day saranae23

This is a zombie thread btw.

Just reading comments about 111 service. I telephoned them (docs closed) daughter has kidney issues, and was going down same path that ended with her in hospital with Iv's for antbiotics and fluids.
Phoned them at 3pm they called back at midnight. At this point Daughter was in bed.
All I had requested was, where can I take her for urine test and antibiotics. They were told by me I would take her to accident dept of local hospital in morning. And to add insult to injury she tried to tell me someone had tried to phone at 7pm but there was no answer, I was sat with my phone on my knee waiting for call from 3, but even if I had missed the call surley a call back 5 hours later was idiotic.

Hi Wendy just to let you know this thread is a year old!

Sorry about your DD, I hope she's okay now!

It is dreadful.

I have used it for several different people, elderly & vulnerable, pregnant, babies. Appalling, dangerous and should be scrapped.

With suffering from a Blocked Artery in my left leg a phone call to 111 was required.

10.15pm. Call was made and call taker went for further advice, upon returning she stated that an emergency Ambulance had been deployed.

10.40pm. I received a telephone call from Ambulance service stating Ambulance had arrived at 16 ???? street by mistake and was travelling to 16 ???? street ( my address ).

3.27am. I dialed 1471 for last callers number and dialed it, a recorded message from Ambulance service advised me to call 111 or 999.

3.35AM. I phoned 111 and asked why the Ambulance had not arrived, the lady informed me that the Ambulance crew had collected me and taken me to hospital... now that is very strange when I am laying here !!!

After numerous apologies from the 111 call Taker I advised her where to put her apologies and Politely requested her to cancel the Ambulance and I will request a family member to transport me to hospital.

Ambulance crews need to answer emergencies and mine is not life threatening ( hence the long waiting time that I endured before I wished to trouble anyone ).

I have recently had a heart attack and dread to think that had it been another one, this fiasco may have ended my life.

Something needs to be done before a Dreadful mistake is made that costs someones life.

111 Is nothing but a joke.

I rang 111 at 9.32 for my 77yr old mum I have a list of her symptoms was told get a ring back within the hour
Yes ✔✔
Was told home visit within 2/3 hours
No ✔✔
Got call back Alf hr going to take long cos its Easter
From 9.32 to 3.01Nothing, ziltch, zero
It's the worst service ever

Weird. I work for an OOH service and it's usually an urgent home visit within 2 hours of routine within 6.

Zombie alert.
This thread is 4 years old.

I was once having asthma issues and needed to be seen at OOH. I have brittle asthma and have a home nebuliser which I can put salbutamol/ventolin and atrovent nebules into and it delivers bigger doses than an inhaler and helps me when I am struggling.

NHS 24 went throuh all the questions...including "are you conscious and breathing?" - to be fair I have noticed in recent months they have been saying "As you are talking to me I can tell you are conscious and breathing." I was really struggling to speak in full sentences so was having to try to speak in to the point answers. She asked if I had used my inhaler, I said no I have used a nebuliser and had used 2 of the 5mg nebules with little effect. That is way more medicine than you would get from some inhaler puffs so it was proof that the medicine wasn't helping enough. She kept saying I had to try 2 puffs of my inhaler. I said I had taken my meds according to my plan from my consultant and needed to see someone. I did get rather frustrated with her, I wasn't rude though just upset and had a very high temp and lots of chest pain so felt rotten. Because of this problem she wrote on the notes that I was an uncooperative patient and aggressive - which is so laughable as I could barely speak from coughing and struggling to breathe.

The Dr at OOH was laughing as it had come up with some sort of warning on the screen for me. I brought my care plan etc and meds list and he totally understood everything and he put me on steroids and antibiotics and I sat for a bit on oxygen with extra nebs.

Now when I phone I just say "yes" to have I taken my inhaler. I view the call as a challenge to tick the right boxes to get to see OOH GP without a call back first, but not tick so many boxes that they call an ambulance.

Another ZOMBIE thread

Well, this is a zombie thread but one I'm grateful for - while waiting for a call back from NHS 111 I thought, WWMNS? - What would Mumsnet say? - and this did put me in the picture about what we're dealing with.

It should not have been simpler. We had been prescribed antibiotics for my elderly Dad with a UTI. We specified it in liquid form, not tablets, as he was out of it and struggling with his swallow. It came in tablets. That said, he seemed to maybe be recovering so the idea was we wouldn't put him on this unless necessary.
Sunday, it became necessary but the pharmacy refused to issue the same medicine in liquid form. 'Call 111' they said, the outer circle of hell.
Called about 9.30am Sunday took 20 mins to get through. Friendly, said they'd call back. Many hours go by, no call back. Dreaded waiting another 20 mins to get through to ask again.
But my sister did call on her mobile and got straight through! So they called me on the landline and we went through it.
To cut a long story short, we had numerous call backs thereafter but nobody - not even a paramedic - qualified to actually authorise the prescription.

Though the people I spoke to were friendly, if you judge a system by what it does not what it says, it's a massive fobbing off exercise.

We weren't even asking for anything difficult. The medicine had already been prescribed, we just wanted it in liquid form.

This thread goes back years, I think to when the Tories really got a hold on power and it does seem to be that thing of running the Govt on the cheap to keep taxes down, like Rynair don't bother with customer care, it's just cheap prices and when you get caught out, go elsewhere - it doesn't affect the majority who make up ticket sales.

On Monday we were still getting a call from NHS 111, still without our meds until noon and then someone said they'd prescribe something else - which then got messed up too. Luckily, Dad is coming through it all.

NHS 111 is like the CQC regulator - it doesn't do what it says on the tin. Its purpose is to string you along, which you will find if you ever report a bad care home.
I'm grateful however to this thread and others on Mumsnet on the subject because it did tip me off how each caller asks the same questions and asks if the patient is hot or has signs of sepsis or is comatose and so on - it would be very easy to get exasperated by some of this if you weren't given the heads up, to receive YET another call by someone who is just phoning in and has no ability to actually prescribe anything. Of course, if you get exasperated they can make out you are being angry and uncooperative so it goes on your notes.

If you want years more of this rubbish, vote Conservative - they'll take it that it means everyone approves of it and continue to do the same.