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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think NHS Direct is not really a good idea

76 replies

katiestar · 21/04/2009 16:40

I rang them for DH who had had very severe stomach ache for over 12 hours.The nurse who we spoke to said to take some paracetamol and ring back if it hadn't improved in a couple of days.24 hours later DH was admitted to hospital with a ruptured appendix
Thankfully we did not take NHS Direct's advice as gospel and gone to our own GP but another person might not have done so burstsv

Surely it is very dangerous for someone to try and diagnose whether a problem is serious or not over the telephone

OP posts:
susie100 · 21/04/2009 16:42

Compelte waste of time and money in my view. Only time I used it they said I needed to go to the GP.

Apparently lots of people use it to confirm what GP has already said to them as a second opinion

I would have thought the money would be better spent on extra GP surgery hours so those of us who work an hour away from our homes can get an appointment at a vaguely convenient time!

Bunch · 21/04/2009 16:42

I would be interested to know how your conversation with them went. Basically they rely heavily on your answers to their questions. They are an advice line. Cannot diagnose, only give advice on the information you give them. You rang them. Up to you if you choose to take the advice or not.

TrinityIsLovingHerLittleRhino · 21/04/2009 16:43

but surely some thing changed/got owrse which prompted you to seek professional advice again

if you had rung nhs direct at that time they probably would have told you to go to a and e

they have helped me to be calm in a non emergency and helped me to home medicatye which was all that was needed but I was panicking as they are my children

I think YABU

louii · 21/04/2009 16:43

As a nurse there is no amount of money that would make me work for NHS 24, i would not sleep at night. Think i would end up telling everyone to go to hospital, god the stress of it.

purpleduck · 21/04/2009 16:43

I agree you had a bad experience there -

BUT!!!
We called them over Easter for our ds, and they were brilliant - called ambulance straight away (ended up he had a concussion)
SO, although I haven't always had a sterling experience with them, they were very good last time.

Hope your dh is feeling better

Bunch · 21/04/2009 16:44

susie100, what were you expecting from them over the phone? Did you want them to travel down the telephone line and cure your problem? They are there for advice.

bronze · 21/04/2009 16:44

Agree waste of time. I recently had a very ill ds. Phoned them got asked the set questions told to go to gp (whole other matter/problem) then did the thing on their site yet got asked more questions even though I had answered the first ones the same. Answer call an ambulance.

Auntylulu · 21/04/2009 16:44

every time i have called them, they have told me to go the GPs, and got the local GP on call centre to see me or the children that day or night.

i imagine she went through all the questions ad symptoms and gave the best advice based on that

if you suspected it was something more serious, i.e if he was doubled over, in agony, with temperature etc. i would not have bothered with NHS direct, but gone straight to GP or A&E

i imagine most people who ring with stomach pains don't end up with a ruptured appendix..

i am sorry your DH was so unwell and wish him a speedy recovery

Northernlurker · 21/04/2009 16:44

Eh? If you didn't think they would be telling you the right thing why did you bother ringing them in the first place?

As it turns out - they were wrong - but your GP could just as easily have misdiagnosed your dh. People make mistakes - doesn't mean that the idea of getting advice over the phone is fundamentally flawed.

Thunderduck · 21/04/2009 16:45

I've always found them to be very helpful whenever I've had cause to call them. They can only give advice based on what you say, so you have to use your own judgement too.

A&E would be even more cluttered up with people who have minor ailments than it already is if we didn't have NHS Direct.

OrmIrian · 21/04/2009 16:46

They've always been very helpful. TBH if anyone was suffering acute pain I wouldn't be ringing NHS Direct I'd be taking them to the hospital or ringing the GP emergency number.

MuffinBaker · 21/04/2009 16:46

I have used them a lot and on balance wouldn't listen to them before my own instincts.

Bunch · 21/04/2009 16:47

Exactly OrmIrian. People expect miracles over the phone!!

MuffinBaker · 21/04/2009 16:47

They follow cue cards, the same as what you could do yourself on line.

IME they misdiagnose or don't phone back.

Thunderduck · 21/04/2009 16:48

I'm surprised they told you to call an ambulance Bronze. When NHS 24 decided we needed one for a family member they arranged it.

edam · 21/04/2009 16:49

Hope your dh is getting a lot better very quickly, katie. Appendicitis does tend to be one of those things people tell horror stories about because in the early stages it's easily confused with stomach ache. My Dad was misdiagnosed long before anyone even dreamt of NHS Direct but fortunately was caught just before it ruptured.

Many GPs moan about NHS Direct because they tend to be very cautious and send people along to the GP or A&E when it might not have been necessary. But that's the downside of telephone advice, they can't see you so can't actually diagnose anything much more complex than the common cold.

susie100 · 21/04/2009 16:53

Bunch - not questioning the people that work there but I think the whole concept is unworkable. You are asking people to make a judgement/give advice without seeing a patient. You have to therefore err on side of caution and rely heavily on what people are saying to you. Therefore you often have to say - go to your GP, call an ambulance. Therefore I think it is a waste of resources, a poster saying - if you think you are ill go and see a GP/nurse if you are seriously ill call 999 would offer the same service.

Original poster
katiestar · 21/04/2009 16:55

My DH is the kind of person who hates making a fuss and going to the doctor , which is why we rang NHS.The thing that made me force him to go to the GP was when the pain suddenly stopped.If I hadn't known this was asign of a ruptured appendix we could easily have thougfht everything was OK and let things progress until the infection had become very serious.
I am not a nurse but would have thought severe persistent abdominal pain would always need to be checked out.I also don't think people are unreasonable for relying on the advice of a nurse.

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 21/04/2009 16:57

'I am not a nurse but would have thought severe persistent abdominal pain would always need to be checked out.'

So what were you expecting to get from NHS direct then? It was never going to meet your need! Could have done better than they did but abdominal pain is a very tricky thing to describe and assess.

Original poster
katiestar · 21/04/2009 17:05

Northernlurker So what were you expecting to get from NHS direct then? It was never going to meet your need! Could have done better than they did but abdominal pain is a very tricky thing to describe and assess.

Exactly so why not send people to a doctor !!I knew to go but the next person might not !

OP posts:
MuffinBaker · 21/04/2009 17:07

Answered the NorthernLurker
thread

BonsoirAnna · 21/04/2009 17:10

I've used NHS twice, for my DD.

Both times I got very helpful advice; on one occasion, NHS Direct got the local duty doctor to ring me later in the day to check my DD was OK (she had constipation during weaning).

I think it is useful for asking the kind of questions that you would like to ask your doctor without needing an appointment for. If you are in any doubt as to whether you need an appointment, you should see your GP.

Stretch · 21/04/2009 17:10

I really value NHS direct. From problems with bleeding in pregnancy, to high temperature in my baby and even when DD2 decided to eat a (mini) pot of sudacrem!! They were able to tell me whether it was poisonous and what other action to take.

They also acted quickly when my mum was very poorly a couple of weeks ago (dehydrated).

Northernlurker · 21/04/2009 17:11

And the next person probably hasn't got an acute appendix either. Your dh is very unlucky in that but lucky that he has you! I just don't understand why when you obviously felt/knew/had a gut instinct that this was a doctor issue you didn't just taken him to the docs rather than calling NHS direct. Why bother with it?

Auntylulu · 21/04/2009 17:16

if he had 'severe persistent abdominal pain; he shoudl have gone straight to doctors or A&E

so yes, YABU