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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think that NHS Direct is a waste of time and government money?

63 replies

EightiesChick · 08/11/2008 23:15

I have rung them various times over the past few years, and have always ended up being told either a) that they can't help and I should make an appointment with my doctor, or b) some stuff from the internet that I could have found myself, and usually have while I'm waiting for them to ring back. It's supposed to cater for people who have a problem but aren't unwell enough to need a doctor or go to hospital, so why is it apparently impossible to answer that kind of query?

Tonight, I rang them because I have picked up a cough and realised, too late to go out and buy any honey and lemon, that it'll bother me in the night. Rang to ask whether I can safely take either of the cough medicines I have in the house. They eventually rang back and said that only a doctor can advise a pregnant woman on what to take (other than plain paracetamol) so I should make an appointment with my doctor. Hmmm, thinking of all the times I've got advice from pharmacists! Plus why couldn't they have told me in the first place they would not be able to help me?

OP posts:

SlartyBartFast · 09/11/2008 00:04

in fact i can't think what we do before nhs direct?
rung the gp i spose,
asked the pharmist
rung a & E
panicked,
rung your mum?
?????

Simplysally · 09/11/2008 00:13

I've used NHS direct a couple of times and they were quite reassuring on each occasion. I wouldn't say it was a waste of money since if they have any doubts about the person's condition they either send an ambulance or tell you to get to A & E if practicable to transport yourself. It's good for general reassurance.

Original poster

EightiesChick · 09/11/2008 00:13

Hey, if I want to moan I come on here

SlartyBartFast, yes, of course it can wait and now it'll have to. But as I said before, the stuff that can wait is surely what NHS D is meant to be able to cater for. It's a 24 hour service, they say they can help with your questions, so I thought why wait overnight when the option's there?

For everyone who's said they were helpful to you, I'm glad they were. I could have taken myself out of the queue though if when I'd rung in the first place, the person had then said, 'Sorry, we won't be able to advise you on that' instead of hanging it out, and then causing other people to wait. I notice lots of people with good results from them have been told rightly to go to A&E, which just strengthens my view that if you are actually ill you should just do that anyway and cut out the middleman. For us whiners and hypochondriacs, they might as well be able to do something

Off to bed now to cough at my DH. Night!

OP posts:

LaVie · 09/11/2008 00:18

reason for posting?

chloemegjess · 09/11/2008 00:21

I don't like it either. DD was very sick one night and at 6 months old had a temperature of 105!!! She had several symptoms, but when they wanted to ask their questions to put on their computer they would only take down ONE symptom to put as the concern. So I said the temperature as that is what was worrying me but they didn't want to know what her temperatue actually was, just that she had a temperature. So the fact that her temperature was dangerously high didn't matter and their conclusion was she was fine and to ring back if she got worse. Probably caused by the hot weather. Needless to say I was not at all happy with their outcome. She is fine and it did only turn out to be Tonsillitis, BUT what if I had put her to bed and she never woke up? A Baby with a temp of 105 should be seen to.

So no, you are not BU

retiredgoth1 · 09/11/2008 00:27

...in the A and E trade they are known as 'NHS re-direct', as they send so much elsewhere.

That said, I don't miss fielding 'advice' calls, which used to be routed to the A and E dept and would take up a considerable amount of time, and the advice given would vary from informed and excellent to, er, crap.

...at least NHS re-direct is reasonably consistent and safe, if over cautious!

LaVie · 09/11/2008 00:30

Yes ! cloemegjess but in that situation you should go to A&E or ring for an ambulance.

Gaaahhh!!! Use your common sense!!!

emma1977 · 09/11/2008 00:39

NHS re-direct, NHS dire, etc, etc....

It was set up to reduce the number of attendances at A&E and GPs, but has had no effect whatsoever. It costs the taxpayer more per NHS contact than per GP appointment.

Medicine-by-alogorithm is also prone to being hit and miss and on occasion dangerous. I'm not a fan of it for anything other than telling people when out-of-hours pharmacies are open and where to find an emergency dentist.

emma1977 · 09/11/2008 00:40

That was meant to say 'more per NHS DIRECT contact than per GP appointment'. Sorry.

chloemegjess · 09/11/2008 00:43

LaVie I do have common sense thanks. There were reasons why we rang them first and we did go straight to A+E straight after.

Thanks for the vote of confidence

GinghamRibbon · 09/11/2008 01:56

Use Mumsnet. I have phoned NHS before about twice and I have only done it because they put you through to a proper DR and you can go and get a prescription from a 24 hour chemist.

Personally I don't even visit my GP anymore unless it's for something like a wart, smear or a sick cert. There are so many over the counter medicines that you can take now and pharmacists are pretty good.

If anything was that bad out of hours, I would be up A&E with my kids or me or DH.

WorzselMummage · 09/11/2008 10:48

Oh YABU completly.

NHS Direct are fab !

PuppyMonkey · 09/11/2008 11:03

Crikey, LaVie bit on your high horse aren't you?
She wanted some advice, is that not what NHS Direct are for then?

pucca · 09/11/2008 11:08

I actually find Mumsnet much better for advice than NHS direct

fembear · 09/11/2008 11:15

I used NHS Direct a couple of times, years ago when the DC were little. Both times it was late at night (so no GP) and I just wanted re-assurance that there was nothing to worry about and that it could wait until morning.
It was formulaic, to suit their agenda, didn't set my mind at rest at all and gave some useless non-advice.

These days, now we have the internet, I wouldn't bother with them. Yes: they are a waste of time and money.

laweaselmys · 09/11/2008 12:35

I have found them both utterly useless and quite helpful - when I was younger was at a house party and one of my friends had got very very drunk, she kept passing out and when she did her pulse slowed down really really low. We rang nhs direct to ask them what we should do as we were worried and they kept us on hold for 45 minutes before we gave up and hang up on them! (She was fine btw, but we ended up calling her dad to take her home and look after her)

But they have previously reassured me when I realised I had drunk a moudly drink in the middle of the night and then got really sick - I was worried I had pneumonia and they told me what to look out for.

And looking up my symptoms on nhs direct online was enough to convince me to ring a doctor at 3 in the morning with bad stomach pains, and he got me into hospital and dx with appendicitis. I would not have done anything at all if the website didn't have CALL 999!! (probably a bit overkill) all over it.

KatieDD · 09/11/2008 12:43

Half of the point of NHS direct is to field the calls from people who dial 999 because they can't get the top off a jar of marmalade or wonder what time the last train from Reading is.
If they stop 10% of those calls going through to the emergency response then they are worthwhile.
Having said that I called up when my DD had a temperature and they were fantastic.

llareggub · 09/11/2008 12:45

I think NHS Direct can be very useful for those middle of the night panics when someone in the family has a previously unseen before kind of problem.

I wouldn't ring for a cough, cold or medicine advice, my local pharmacist is great for that.

Mumsnet is all very well and good, but I wouldn't trust it for medical advice!

StewieGriffinsMom · 09/11/2008 12:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

chloemegjess · 09/11/2008 12:49

I agree Mumsnet is very useful BUT

a) when I was in the situation above (where apparently I have no commen sense) I asked on Mumsnet and 50% of the replies said go to A+E but the others said to give calpol and just take to the doc in the morning if she is still unwell.

b) There are not many Mums online at 3am

ThePregnantHedgeWitch · 09/11/2008 12:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

StealthPolarBANG · 09/11/2008 13:02

NHS Direct are for minor queries if i understand correctly
The whole point of it was to take these enquiries away from 999
I don't see why people are having a go at the OP
I would have expected a conversation such as
(This is not medical advice!!!!!!!!)

How far along in pregnancy are you?
Are you allergic to X, Y, Z?
In that case you can take a reduced dose etc...

(This is not medical advice!!!!!!!!)

No, they can't examine her but they can get the background and make recommendations based on that

RevStinkerPinker · 09/11/2008 13:07

I have had good and bad experiences.

The bad one was when DS1 had his very serious allergic reaction. He was 1 year old, and I had given him piriton, after which he threw up.

I wanted to know whether it was safe to give him another dose. There was no one at the Doctors as it was 9.15am .

I rang NHS direct to ask them and had to endure a nurse reading monotonously through a list of questions off a screen. When she asked me "has he got tingling of the lips or tongue?" I started to lose my temper "He's ONE year old, what am I supposed to do, ask him?"

Eventually I said, I have had enough of this, I am calling an ambulance. She said, ah, I was just about to advise you to do that.

At least the trip to hospital gave me the lever to get an epipen so it wasn't all bad.

AuntieMaggie · 09/11/2008 16:45

They've been very good with me and my sister as previously said - and if they do direct you to an out of hours dr service or A and E then IME they are expecting you and know what your problem is when you get there so less waiting around etc.

When my niece was about 4 months old and had problems all through the night they sent a car to pick my sister and niece up, the doctor was waiting to meet them when they got to the hospital and the ward had been warned incase she needed to be admitted. So yes she needed attention but not as urgent as an ambulance so it saved my sister using that resource.

With me on both occasions I got ill overnight (isn't it always the way???) and my DP called NHS direct for me and the first time got sent to an out of hours gp service at 4am. I was seen as soon as I got there even though there were a couple of other people there waiting, and they already knew why I was there. As it happened my illness lasted the whole weekend so they were invaluable at getting advice when I had severe reactions to the meds I'd been given and directing me to the right hospital (in bristol we have 3 and they rotate the emergency services). I ended up seeing 3 doctors at 3 different places between 4am saturday morning and late sunday night, and they were great.

The second time I had chest pains and was in a right state but the nurse stayed on the phone with me until the ambulance got there reassuring me even though my dp was with me. I wouldn't have called an ambulance myself, even though I was scared shitless but having someone at the end of the phone helped.

I think they provide a brilliant service, but no they can't always provide advice on meds but then I wouldn't expect them to as a phone service without seeing you or your medical history.

cory · 09/11/2008 22:52

Rang them last weekend because dd was having breathing difficulties. The person who took the call heard her in the background and sent a paramedic. He was wonderful and managed to get her breathing normally without drugs and without a hospital trip which would have been our next step. It was the reassurance that somebody else judged this was worth having the paramedic for.

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