Been waiting 5 hours for a call back 111

[UserError1]

Is this normal? I've had a call at 9.30pm saying there is a backlog.... I'm not sure if I'm being unreasonable.

I've got stomach pain

I'd imagine it will be triaged ? Did you tell the call handler your symptoms etc?

H there’s long waits at the moment. What sort of stomach pain?

Unfortunately the waiting time is awful just now. You could be waiting a while yet

Yanbu. Waiting times are awful at the moment.

Well there are people on here calling 111 for very minor issues - my
job also involves calling people referred by 111. Most of these are a waste of my time so unfortunately that's why you are waiting. Hth

It can be upto 24 hours, tarketted to be under 4 and normally less than 8 hours though. Generally worth thinking about what you're hoping to accomplish from the phone call, as in abdominal pain if new and you have no idea what the cause is might be difficult to diagnose over the phone.

I. E. If you know the cause as you've had it before and are going to ask for a specific med to be prescribed for you to collect in the morning then great they may be able to help. Also if its a very mild pain that's pretty much settled now and just want a little reassurance they may be able to tell you to see your own gp tomorrow.

If however you've got a severe pain that will stop you from sleeping, and hasn't been helped by regular pain relief, and you haven't had anything similar then you are going to need to be seen. So you'll either be told to make your way to a&e, or given an appointment a couple of hours from when they call you.

I don’t think you can really complain about people calling 111 for ‘minor issues’. It’s significantly better if someone rings 111 for advice and is directed to the most appropriate service rather than just turning up at A&E.

111 seems to depends on which area you’re in. I’m in London and they’re always great. Phoned at 8:30 yesterday and had an appointment at the local A&E at 9:45.