Being vile to 111

[111hell]

Can anyone shed light on why people are so awful to 111? It's a triage job to assist you in getting help. That's it, yes the questions may feel stupid but the tool rules out possible outcomes. I have never been spoken to the way I have working for 111. People are just vile. Honestly it's soul destroying

Aw I was so impressed with 111 the other day. My daughter fell down the stairs, I rang 111 as I wasn’t sure what to do. They videoed me to see her, saw her behaviour and got us a taxi to hospital . Turned out she had broken her leg. I was so impressed as I didn’t want to waste an and es time and space but they made the call for me and were correct. The daughter was screaming and crying in pain all through the phone call which must have been painful to hear for the paramedic. But she didn’t mind.

Does the call handler ever find out the result of what happened or how can you thank them for helping?

I hope your daughter is making a good recovery.

We never find out what happens after the callers have left the 111 system. Unless you’ve done something wrong.

You can thank them by calling in, just say you’re calling to make a thank you.The call handler can find your daughter’s details and find out who dealt with the call. We love when people do that. ❤️

@Sensiblyplease hope your dd is doing OK. Good to hear a positive outcome
You can go on careopinion.org.uk and follow a flow thing to give feedback on your call and treatment.

Oh yea I’d love to do that- so I have the number they rang from - would I just ring this? Im in West Yorkshire. I want to thank her as I don’t think I would have taken her in without her saying for me to, and turns out it was broken and they made the right call!

That’s interesting because I once called them in the middle of the night in a panic as my DC was so ill and the woman who answered was the most unsympathetic, unprofessional person I’ve ever dealt with.

She was so bad I told her I’d wait till the morning and take my chances. She was shocking. I’ll never phone them again. I’ll just go straight to A&E.

No just ring 111. It tends to be quiet weekday daytimes.

Done! They said they leave it on the file so fingers crossed they get it! Thanks ☺️

And? OP asked 'why are people so awful to 111'? Your response - highlighting all the red tape involved - perfectly answers that question...

Sorry that happened. You should have called back and complained about her attitude. The call would have been listened to and you would have had a response.

What is red tape about wanting to know a caller’s current location? Callers ring us with health concerns, they may need an ambulance so we need to know.

We are an NHS family but one massive issue I have with 111 is the lack of autism awareness. I have a non verbal DS very high needs in a fully specialist school and no matter how clearly I explain this they always ALWAYS push me to give them answers I don’t have and he can’t tell me.
Pushing me to ask him questions when I’ve already explained he has severe learning disabilities and can’t speak or communicate.

There’s a current thread about how the OP’s teen daughter stormed out of the GP surgery and told the GP she wasn’t good at her job. Apparently because the GP was probing with questions the girl didn’t think relevant. Some of the replies there made it much clearer as to why GP’s are leaving the profession in droves. You’re not alone OP, the general public get more entitled every day. Presumably lots of them watch programmes like Holly and Casualty and think people actually do talk to healthcare professionals the way they depict on TV !!

I’m sorry but the last time I spoke to 111 they were AWFUL.

we waited 16 hours for a referral to the out of hours GP when we knew DC had scarlet fever and needed antibiotics (other DC had it at the time)

In the end they gave us an appointment over an hour away, refused to make one any closer (when we live 20 minutes away from a treatment centre) and the appt they have was at 3am. They told us if we didn’t accept the appt we would have to start the process all over again. Answered the same questions about 5 times all to different people. It was beyond frustrating and so stressful.

I am a student nurse myself and never take it personally if someone is rude. I always think if I was confused/getting conflicting information/in an uncomfortable bed/getting poor sleep/too hot/couldn’t shower easily/didn’t like the food etc…. You wouldn’t want to know me!

im not saying people have a right to be rude but we all have our own circumstances and sometimes we don’t always show people our best side

How is any of this red tape ?

Hi@111hell I just wanted to post a huge thank you to you and your colleagues for doing such a hard job.
On the occasions I've had to call we have been relieved to hear a calm voice and gotten the help we need. We are always polite and thankful. Hats off to you it must be tough when people are rude.

It is not ethical to work for a system you don’t believe in and can’t change. Why are you there if you don’t endorse it? I know it sounds rarified but ultimately your integrity matters.

I understand that it has been designed this way for a reason. But there are trade offs and this is one of them.

There are alternative ways of designing a service like this (for example, use more experienced staff who don’t need to use an algorithm).

So you think hcp who think the nhs is being operated shittily just now should all leave, rather than do what they can to keep patients at the centre of things?

its frustration! its not personal, its just sheer exasperation. people cannot get access to proper medical care! its weeks for a Dr's appointment, a&e is ridiculous.. people are genuinely worried that they might actually be very ill and no one will care!

I work in the public sector and I have had to move around a bit to find a job that I can believe in. I think all NHS workers have frustrations with the system but most can get behind what they are doing day to day. When it reaches a point where you feel the system just doesn't work, it's not viable to stay in that particular role ime.

This, and so much 'well done!! That'll tell her' applause from mnetters...🙄

Nobody should be being rude to you, OP.

But calling 111 can be a frustrating experience. It's very obvious the call handlers are not medically trained.

I only call 111 if I need an out of hours GP appointment. Otherwise I just go straight to A&E.

They sent my husband to A&E for suspected stroke - he had a migraine with aura (never had one before). They also told me I was fine to care for myself at home - I ended up ignoring them and going to A&E where I was put on a nebuliser because I couldn't breathe properly with an awful virus. The doctor said I had been right to come in.

So I don't trust their algorithms at all.

This is why people get frustrated. Doesn't make it right that you have to listen to it. The system is broken.

1. Some people are entitled assholes who are rude to everyone that they perceive as "service" staff.

1. Some people are mentally unwell, on drugs or drunk.

1. Even those who are normally reasonable can act out when in pain, scared, stressed, frustrated.

The system itself exacerbates all of these things. It's like a maddening call centre and completely robotic, computer says no set up.
Every time I've called the wait to even be connected has been 30 mins-1hour.
Then you describe your problem and are asked a million questions that seem random and irrelevant (I know you said it's part of the triage system but the general public don't understand how that works).
You're pushed into giving a yes or no answer even when the actual answer is "I'm not sure", "yes but..." or "I'm not having this symptom now but I was earlier". You're worried that because of this you won't get the right help.
The handlers get quite snippy if you can't answer with a firm yes or no.
At this point I'm thinking "just go away and let me speak to someone with medical training", I don't verbalise that but someone less patient might.
After that you wait on hold while they talk to the nurse, then you wait again to be connected to the nurse. You have to repeat a lot of the same information to her/him.
You're told you'll get a call back but they can't give you even an approximate time, you're expected to wait by the phone indefinitely even though you have things to do like take care of a child.
You get a call back eventually, but if you miss it you can't call the number back, just have to wait for them to phone again. It's STIlLL not someone who can help, but yet another admin person who is irate that you missed their call. You have to repeat your problem to them, even though you've already given that information twice. They say the doctor will call you. But they can't tell you when, so you wait by the phone again.
Eventually the doctor calls and you have to repeat your problem for a 4th time that day.

One time I called at 1pm on a Saturday, all I needed was antibiotics for a persistent tonsillitis infection, by the time I got through the system and saw the doctor it was after 11pm. I had to haul my sleeping toddler out of bed and out into the cold winter night as there was no one to mind her at that time.

I know none of that is the call handlers' fault and no one should be abused in their job but I can see why people are pissed off.

I will admit I was almost rude to a 999 call handler. I had a lady in my care who was frothing at the mouth and turning blue. He very patronisingly asked if I was "sure" that was the case and I'd have to wait at least an hour. I did almost shout "she doesn't have an hour, I know you're busy but please help". He just repeated it wasn't life threatening. I called again, got a different call handler and she was so kind, even waited with me until help arrived and reassured me. So some call handlers are not empathetic at all and causes more stress.

I’m sorry, but it’s a problem of your own making if you missed your call back. Not a 111 call handler’s. We can’t telepathically know what the reason for your original call was just from your phone number.

Also a sore throat is a lowest priority call back (unless you can’t swallow) so 14 hours on a Saturday where we have, in my region where we have upwards of 80 calls waiting from 9am is pretty good.