Has anyone ever called 111 and NOT been told to go to A and E?

[riotlady]

I know they need to stay on the safe side but i feel like it’s their response to everything, which sort of defeats the purpose a little bit.

I’ve been sent to out of hours (who then sent me to a&e), to an emergency GP appointment and told to wait it out and see what happened.

We often joke that next time we ring 111 we will do it from a&e carpark as they always send us there. Although in fairness that is in relation to the dc.

I have rung for myself - suspected quincy and they sent me to the local out of hrs. We live rurally so it was a midnight dash 40 mins through country rds unable to swallow and feeling like death. Thankfully not quincy just severe tonsillitis.

Posted too soon. I do think its a great service.

Yes, the only time they should have!
They've tried to send me to a&e over a few nonsensical things (wasn't sure if walk in centre, urgent gp or regular appointment so rang)
But the one time I wasn't sure if ambulance or a&e as DD woke unable to breathe, then struggling for breath & wheezing they told us to let her calm down, stick the telly on for a bit until she was able to sleep and see the dr in the morning. Turns out it was croup and the Dr advised next time don't hesitate ring for paramedics as she needed oxygen!

My experience
DSD aged 16 - told to take him straight to a&e - he had appendicitis

DS 1 - ooh Dr
DS 2 - ooh x2, paramedic sent x1 (all under 18 months)
Me - ambulance sent - I had liver failure.

Every time they said a&e or sent paramedic/ambulance they were spot on

I've used 111 probably a dozen times and never been referred to A&E. I've been seen at OOH or have spoken to a Dr on the telephone.

When DCs were babies, it was a&e. Think I phoned when one had high temp and the other one fell over and knocked himself out (came round almost immediately).
More recently it’s the out of hours.

Called them a couple of times for tonsillitis / UTI’s on a Friday night / weekend. Each time a doctor has rang me back, diagnosed me over the phone and sent a prescription over to my nearest pharmacy. 111 is amazing!!!

Usually out of hours (it's the only way to get an appointment there).

They wanted to send an ambulance for a bumped head for my 8yo. I refused, but happily took her to out of hours. It definitely wasn't ambulance worthy.

Yes. My husband swallowed a lamb bone that got stuck in his throat somehow and he was sicking up blood. He eventually managed to get the bone up himself and they said he would be fine without medical intervention.

Last time I phoned Dh had an inflamed nipple it was very painful and sore, the said someone would phone back ,this was in July and I'm still waiting for a call back i asked wether he should go to a walk in centre they said he could but the nearest one was 14 miles away , I said what about the one in town six miles away and another one in the other direction about seven miles away he did go to A and E as it was weekend and he was treated for cellulitos and ended up having minor surgery a few days later

For myself, I am usually given a visit from the g.p. But in eleven years 85% of phone calls to Scotland’s 111/ nhs 24 on my children’s behalf have resulted in a visit to our local out of hours clinic. The remainder having been advice to continue with calpol and ibuprofen at home.

Scotland’s NHS 24 / 111 has been literally a life saver for me! I am severely disabled, bedbound and catheterised. On two occasions I have been seriously unwell, my dh has called 111 and they send a g.p out immediately, both times diagnosing sepsis and calling me an ambulance to take me to the hospital forty miles away. It terrifies me thinking of what might have happened if I had to rely just on my gp practice.

Our gp is a rural practice and we are lucky that we can usually get an appointment on the day if we call early enough. Between our gp practice, our local out of hours clinic and our local hospital we have so far had a fantastic service from the

I seem to be a regular 111 caller. It's about 70% out of hours to appointment and 30% ambulance sent.

When my daughter was younger, she had been ill and not eaten or drink much.
When I phoned, the nurse that rang back asked a number of questions and suggested that a and e was not needed unless we were overly concerned.
They gave advice on how to get her to take and keep down fluids, (my main concern). They suggested what to be concerned about so that if she had those symptoms we could phone back or go to a and e.

Yep, initially it was a first responder, followed by an ambulance. I was surprised too!

They did send a paramedic round when ds2 had an allergic reaction and his lip swelled up and he took us to A and E to be in the safe side but t I be fair ds has complex disabilities and he's non verbal so I think that was a reasonable decision

Never been told to go to A&E, out of hours doc appointment made for me. Apart from the time OH (who has MS) had terrible stomach pains, was refused doctor's visit or an ambulance - OH ended up with a ruptured appendix, peritonitis, a 2 hour operation, a 2 and a half week hospital stay, post op sepsis. This advanced his MS so much that he had to give up his business, he is now housebound and unable to get around outside without a wheelchair. We are suing the out of hours service - if they had either sent a doctor or an ambulance when we first phoned the ruture wouldn't have happened.

Only once been told to go to a&e. Had advice, gp booked, and minor injuries.
A&e was for a major emergency.

I actually rang them for myself a week ago, rang at 1.10am Saturday night/Sunday and had OOH appointment at Urgent Care for 2.15am. Had a really bad UTI, antibiotics and pain relief prescribed (literally just took last antibiotic) no complaints.

I DO have a complaint about the doctors though! I'd actually been to see nurse practitioner at my GP surgery at 12noon last Friday with same symptoms, pain in side and temperature... he told me there's nothing wrong and take some Buscopan then 36 hours later I'm on the phone to 111

I called 111 when my son was taking antibiotics and he woke up in the night with his lips swollen up. They said to unlock the door and wait for an ambulance which they were sending. It never arrived and an hour later they called back and asked how he was, he didn't seem any worse so they said to make an appointment with our Dr's in the morning.

Never been to A&E, always OOH GP within a couple of hours. No waiting around in a waiting room thank goodness!

No.

The times ive called ive been told to wait to see my own gp 🤷‍♀️

Called them 5 times. Twice been sent to a and e, twice to ooh doctor,once was sent an ambulance. The ambulance was because of chest pains and looking feeling in hands...

You’d be surprised with the calls I get at 111. The other day I had a lady call for her elderly mother. She told me she was unresponsive but not unconscious. If someone’s not responding, not making deliberate movements etc they are unconscious!! How can a grown adult phone a non emergency line for their unresponsive mother! I did have another call like this the other week. It really baffles me. We get these emergency calls all the time when people should just ring 999. It even says just before u get through to us to call 999 for an emergency. But I feel people don’t understand what an emergency is. 111 is not perfect but we do our best. If we feel that an outcome is not appropriate we can flag it up. Also you can refuse an ambulance btw! The questions also get regularly updated and are written by medical professionals. As I said we are not perfect and some of the past questions have been updated as they were not safe in some circumstances. But I always believe that if I think there’s something seriously wrong then straight to a&e. Otherwise if I wanted an ooh then I would call 111.