Will my 111 call ever be answered?

[Minimalme]

Been listening to the crackly music and intermittent message saying 111 are busy for 40 minutes now.

Are the strikes affecting this service?

DS is poorly with a bad cough and temperature (3rd day). He has Type 1 Diabetes (since he was 4 so we are well practised in this) but we are not sure if he maybe has a chest infection and I'd like some advice.

I could ring the paediatric diabetes out of hours service or take him to A&E (I know the latter is a shit idea).

I don't know if my call will ever be answered - should I give up or hang on?

I just cut my call to 111 off when my sister rang. Luckily I had something of a plan by then so it didn't tip me over the edge.

Plus ds8 has gone to play with my nephew so I can finally hear myself think.

If he's using a dexcom cgm, be aware that paracetamol can mess up the readings or even cause the sensor to fail. So I was told by the dexcom helpline anyway.

I didn't know this - that is really useful. Will deffo do that next time.

@Minimalme You're welcome. Do you have the NHS app? I usually do it through that. If you press "get medical advice" and then it takes you through questions. If it then recommends you need a callback, you can book one.

I did this yesterday. It told me I would be called back by a nurse in 30 minutes. The call came nearly 6 hours later but the nurse was lovely and really helpful.

I'm still waiting for a call back from 111 from over a year ago so I don't have much faith in them. Urgent care?

40 minutes this morning, mw mother-in-law slid out of bed and got herself caught between her bed and a table. We managed to get her back on the bed but she is complaining of pain .We then had to wait for a call back. That was about another 2 hours and we're now waiting for an ooh doctor to visit.

How is a pharmacist useful with a child with diabetes, a temp and a possible chest infection requiring a PRESCRIPTION

how do you know the child requires a prescription?

How would a pharmacist know?

why would a pharmacist need to know? O/p isn’t asking for a prescription, or even if she needs one- she wanted reassurance that there was nothing immediate she needed to do.

pharmacist is often useful to talk things through, and will have a good knowledge of diabetic management and control and when further care should be sought.

o/p got what she needed from her diabetes nurse.

why are you so focussed on a prescription when that is not what the o/p or the child want or need?

Just go to the walk in. We were in and out within 2 hours yesterday.

I was really surprised in I think September/October when I rang 111 for my 8 year old with immunodeficiency and some other underlying health issues on a Saturday morning with a fever and other vague symptoms that I was called back with in half an hour examined over FaceTime where he noticed the begins of tonsillitis and sent antibiotics to my local chemist within an hour.

Sounds like whatever you were calling about was a total waste of time/ non urgent then.

111 is not a replacement for a GP. Your bad back you’ve had for 6 weeks is not a 111 case. (I’m not saying this was you)

You forget that 111 is who you have to call to access out of hours GPs in most areas. I’ve waited 15 hours for a call back for a child with a temp of 40 not responding to normal meds, rash and clear tonsillitis. They needed a GP not A and E so we waited.

They had scarlet fever, got antibiotics. If it hadn’t been the weekend we’d have called the normal GP for a same day appointment. If they’d deteriorated we’d have gone to A and E.

111 is overwhelmed like the rest of the NHS. If it had been non urgent they’d not have called back for days. Urgent cases can expect 6-12 hours for a call back. That’s just the reality. Although I accept it’s worse in Wales

@Hoowhoowho that’s a perfectly valid reason to call 111. It’s the “I’ve had a bad back for 6 weeks” brigades that clog the lines up.