AIBU to expect the 111 service to be a bit more thorough than this?

[JackMummy12]

My husband came home yesterday not feeling great, this morning has woke up with worse symptoms including scratchy throat and v high temperature.

Obviously, ring the NHS 111 service to see what the advice is.

They ask the 2 following Qs to determine whether they think it’s Coronavirus:

Have you traveled this year?

Have you come into contact with anyone with a confirmed case?

My husband is a tradesman, he works on new build sites all around our region. He comes into contact with people multiple times a day that he knows nothing about, wont speak to again and wouldn’t be able to contact if he wanted to.

How the hell is this good enough to say he doesn’t have the virus, especially considering what’s going on in Italy at the moment. It’s a completely naive approach like believing all Italians have travelled This year or not been following guidelines 🙄 it’s ridiculous.

Yesterday when people were saying the goverment weren’t taking it seriously enough I thought people were being over the top, and that they know what’s best but now I’ve lost complete trust in them.

Whilst I can’t diagnose my husband, I was hoping we’d get given some advice on protecting our family, whether we should keeP our daughter off school or how I can protect my 3 month old baby, but because we answered no to both questions we were told he did not need to self isolate and could go about doing what he felt well enough to do.

AIBU or is this ridiculous way to diagnose going to see us like Italy? I am completely unable to see what measures the government is taking for this to be the delay stage, surely delay would be saying to people to self isolate if they think they match the symptoms?

A sore throat isn't a symptom. That's probably one of the reasons he was fobbed off.

They're receiving thousands of calls a day from people like your husband - who don't have Coronavirus symptoms but are panicking anyway.

He's allowed to self-isolate without their say so, you know.

Yes, I'm the same. Really feeling unwell, although dont really have the right symptoms, my boss was concerned that I get checked out. I travel on the tube so who knows who I've been in contact with? I'm only a concern if I've travelled or been in contact with a confirmed case.

I think that made sense a week ago when we had no home grown cases but now?

I dont think I have CV but I dont know how "they" know that from the questions asked.

I didn't call btw but used the online checker.

What would you like them to do instead?
I'm assuming you want them to test your DH for the virus?
Say they do test him and it comes back positive? What would that achieve other than telling him he has the virus? Adding him to the figures on the news that night? Get a bit more sympathy from his boss when he rings in sick perhaps?
It wouldn't change the treatment given. They're not handling out antibiotics for it like sweets.

Like someone else has said, he's not well. He should be staying home anyway to stop spreading whatever the hell it is around. You can self isolate if you want. You don't need someone on the end of the phone to tell you what to do.

Why did you answer "no" rather than "I don't know" to the second question if he's coming into contact with strangers all the time?

And yes, a sore throat isn't listed as one of the symptoms to look out for. I imagine they have thousands of calls a day from people "just checking" - they can't test everyone at the moment, although I just read that they are shortly going to be able to test many more a day - so how do you suggest they narrow down who to test and who not to, if not with those questions?

Say they do test him and it comes back positive? What would that achieve other than telling him he has the virus? Adding him to the figures on the news that night? Get a bit more sympathy from his boss when he rings in sick perhaps?

of course it would chance things? have you read the news recently?

There isn't a "dont know" option, they're only working on certain contact.

@mealychump

A sore throat isn't a symptom. That's probably one of the reasons he was fobbed off.

When you go and look at the wider symptoms you may experience it is one of them.

Oh cute, he doesn’t have a boss he’s self employed! We are fortunately in a position where his time off work isn’t an issue to us. We have the money to support ourselves even with me being on maternity leave but I know there are other people who unfortunately do continue on as they will have been told not to self isolate.

I’m not concerned about him so much but our Daughter carrying it at school to people who have people In their home life more in danger of it. My 3 month old baby! From what I’ve researched online children aren’t effected so much, but do carry it.

My question isn’t about my husband, it’s about surely more measures should be taken so this isn’t being spread.

It doesn't matter anyway. Even if you describe the exact symptoms, you're only a concern to "the system" if you have direct contact with a confirmed case or have travelled to a cat1/2 area.

A bad sore throat is found in stories about minor cases.

I have has a terrible sore throat and cough all week. I am more poorly than I've been in years and if someone said it was covid-19 I would believe them. But I have been poorly for an week and am 100s of miles away from a known case. Damn if this isn't it and I'm going to get sick again in two week (I have three kids and work at a uni. My odds are poor)

I did say don’t know and explained he doesn’t know the people he works with, that’s actually why I rang because the online service seemed so rubbish I thought that surely ringing would be more thorough!

I have 2 children with dry coughs and really high temperatures since yesterday Which aren’t coming down with calpol too much. .
Called 111 because I didn’t want to just take them to the walk in centre with those symptoms just incase.
They wouldn’t give them an out of hours appointment because they have a cough. The doctor Told me it was probably a viral infection and no concern for the virus. To just rest, keep hydrated, the normal advice should a child be ill.

There seems to be a lot of illness going around that isn’t the Coronavirus. But obviously it’s best to be cautious because you never know.

But I understand what you are saying. There are people getting it who haven’t been to an affected area and who have not been known to have been in contact with anyone who has a confirmed case. If ‘we’ are using those 2 questions as a guide in saying that only those people could potentially have the virus then it’s clear to see why we could be heading the same way as Italy.

I think the reality is that they can't test and retest potentially hundreds of thousands of people with symptoms that may or may not be corona virus. They have just announced that they will be able to do 10000 a day. I guess there will be a wider protocol at some point. I think it will come down to people to decide to self isolate if their symptoms match.

he doesn’t have a boss he’s self employed!

See I think this is more of a concern. Obviously your husband is fine but what happens to people who are self employed and have to self isolate but can't afford the time off?

OP you do know the call takers aren't medical professionals, don't you?
And nobody can be certain that you do/don't have a virus without testing for it.

The problem is CV symptoms are very similar to cold/flu and the big differentiator is contact with CV. I have a cold right now. I know it’s that as I don’t have a high temperature and have a small baby so literally haven’t left the damn house lol but all my other symptoms are bang on the money for CV. They will be getting hundreds of calls from people with a cold and they simply need to cut down as best as they can.

Ultimately it comes down to individual responsibility which isn’t the best but not sure what else there is. People need to self isolate if they think they have CV even if they have no way of knowing.

It sounds like your family isn’t in the vulnerable group eg not elderly and you didn’t mention any health issues eg chronic lung disease for baby etc. So, the question for you is simply whether to self isolate as you won’t need health support. It’s - unfortunately - going to be your decision.

Incidentally I was in the hospital a few days ago for an appointment and they had a CV area for people who suspected CV and it was literally a taped off section of a waiting room with hand sanitizer and a notice not to leave the taped area. Honestly, it seems like we don’t know what to do and even if we did we can’t execute it. We are unprepared. Not just 111 - everyone. So we can only do our best. 111 is doing their best with the staple questions to weed through cold/flu and you can do your best by making the most reasonable and responsible condition you can.

It’s hard.

I've been told (from an in the field professional) :

Take a deep breath, hold your breathe for 10 seconds or more. If you can do this without bringing on a coughing fit you're likely fine.

The cough isn't wet or phlegmatic it's dry as part of pnemonia.

Blocked noses that are snotty are fine, coronavirus blocked nose is a drowning like feeling but not wet (this symptom is an urgent one).

No sore throat AFAIK.
Hth and dh feels better soon.

@GiveHerHellFromUs this is what i mean, there a lot of self employed people who can not afford to take the time off, therefore without the advice will carry on risking the spread.

I do know they aren’t medical professionals and testing would be needed, but like I have said this isn’t about my husband having it, it’s the advice to carry on as normal to me which doesn’t add up with being in this ‘delay’ stage we are meant to be in, surely to delay it more people should be being recommended to self isolate not just those who’ve travelled of been in contact with someone with a case.

Also, just had to renread what I wrote as at no point has my q been about my husband having this, I gave my experience of this morning to support my q about if it is a ridiculous way to diagnose the public in general.

I have not asked anyone to diagnose him on here or expressed an outrageous concern for him.

My Q isn’t am I being unreasonable to think my husband has corona, it was am I being unreasonable to think the way the 111 service diagnose is ridiculous. Italy is in lockdown, people wouldn’t have willingly been in contact with people with CV nor have they all travelled to China.

111 do not diagnose.

They either tell you to stay in bed and take paracetamol, or attend a local physician.

I was just saying to my DH last night that the advice to call your GP or 111 is utter shite. All the info anyone needs is online. They’re fek all they can do over the phone.

If they have x amount of money to spend on this, I'd rather they spent it on treatment for the few % that need it, rather than testing everyone with a cold.

There’s fek all

I would imagine 111 are trying to field a trillion calls from adults asking if they can get a fortnight off work because they don't feel well. Their powers to diagnose are limited and common sense of the population is rapidly diminishing, so between the two factors I imagine they are starting to lose the will by now.