Has NHS direct actually helped anyone???

[charmedhay]

Have any of you actually been helped by NHS direct or just been advised to see doctor anyway??

Ha ha, what A funny thread. Can I make a prediction that it is less than 1% of people , to whom direct has been of any use at all.
Don't you just love the way our tax money is spent

it's nhs 24 here in scotland, but same thing. i've found them useful myself but they were terrific when my dad had a brain heamorage - sorry, spelling!- they didn't say thet's what it was but arranged an immediate visit to a and e. sadly he died anyway but my mum felt better at least knowing he got prompt care.

I once was looking after a friends little boy, and he developed a weird rash said he felt sick, i rang NHS direct and they asked for his DOB, i said i didnt know it as he wasnt mine, but i knew he was 3, so knew the year. The lady kept asking for his DOB, asking was there no way i could find it, i said no, could you please help me with his symptoms, she said that i really needed to give his DOB this went on for about 5mins before i got so mad i told her to f@*k off and hung up. I know this was prob quite rude of me, but i was so frustrated!! I knew his age, i didnt get where in the year he was born would interfer with her helping me!!

A lot more helpful than our local GP over the phone

sorry i didnt get WHY his DOB stoped her helping me!!
Have you had a recent bad experience to prompt this??

For me, it's the advice as to whether I need to see a doctor that has been most useful. On several occasions for the dc. Once for dh. Also my brother was finally persuaded to get his hot appendix seen to by an NHS direct adviser.

I like it.

And yes, the questions are a bit bizarre sometimes, but I can see why they're needed.

I think they're a waste of time. Just phone the out of hours doctor if you're worried.

I called when I was 36 weeks pregnant and they asked me if I had played tennis that day?

helped me when i had a query about if i could take 2 random medicines together!

also helped me when my grandfather (who is VERY stubborn) and was seriosuly ill... he pursaded us to let us cann NHS direct (ie as far as he new we were phoning a Dr in the phone who WOULDNT visit) who insisted he went straight to hospital by ambulence... he was seriously ill and too stubborn to let us do anything

(if they had not existed at the very least a Dr would have been called regardless tho... sometimes you just have to over-rule stubborn grandparenst )

Hate being asked when ringing about possible early labour pains, 'have you developed a rash of tiny purple spots?'
Like,...

yes

Yes, fine for factual queries that can be easily checked. For instance, completely hypothetically: "My toddler found some rat poison that my dh left sitting around without my knowledge. Can you call the poisons unit and tell me if we have to have his stomach pumped?'.

(Answer was no, but I really, really, woudn't recommend feeding your child rat poison anyway.)

Have found them fairly helpful if your question is along the lines of "my baby toppled head first off a coffee table" than if your query is "my husband is going through major morphine withdrawal" - their script kinda falls apart at this stage.

For a lot of Out of Hours services you have to go through NHSD to get to them anyway. It's okay as a triage service, I do think this is something which is very hard to do over the phone, esp when they have to go through a checklist. So you phone and say "my leg fell off" and they still have to ask "are you breathing?" "do you have a rash?" "are you unconscious?" (I assume they modify the questions a bit if you are the patient, I never am!)

Yes,

during Millennium Christmas and New Year when it was impossible to get hold of docs. DH had a huge and painful boil. They told me how to lance it and treat it till the surgery opened. [yuck]

When I had Bells Palsy they idagnosed me over the phone, although I had to go to a Harmony clinic to have it confirmed.

When DD was two weeks old and had been crying for hours they calmed me down and spent ages getting me to check her. PFB alert!

Yes I've found it useful a couple of times. Far quicker than going to the GP or A&E. Things about what medecines you can take in pregnancy, that sort of thing.

I phoned them earlier am at home with dd and ds and have really bad lower tummy pains and its really painful to sit or wee etc feels really bruised inside {no reason} i'm really worried .Told first woman this and she said they would phone me back in hour and a foriegn nurse {no complaints on foriegn people,} i just couldn't understand what the hell she was talking about !! Basically 10 minutes later i've been told to see GP and take parecetamol!! Cheers i could have done that 2 hours ago!! AAARRRGGG

Yes,they actually located a dentist taking on new patients-though he is 70 miles away

I have also found them helpful, they advised me to bf my ds of 9months when he was vomiting for just a few minutes at a time then stop. He had been taken into hospital as couldn't keep any fluids down but was otherwise OK so we had been sent home. Feeding this way really seemed to help.

No. I'd have died if I followed their advice.

Yes - gave helpful advice about a nasty tummy bug DH had, advised how many days before a GP appointment would be needed, and about what OTC medicines he should take.

yes many times. Don't like bothering doctors out of hours and they tell you if you need to. If I think its serious I phone the out of hours doctor but if I'm not sure if it can wait I ask NHS direct.

I'd invent a dob if I didn't know one.

Yes. NHS24 was great when dh had a horrendous 48hr stomach virus over Christmas a couple of years ago and I wanted to know whether to call out doc on Boxing Day.

The nurse was extremely thorough at checking and double checking for meningitis symptoms & gave really useful advice about what to watch out for (ie when more medical help would be needed) and how to make him more comfortable.

It was exactly the sort of scenario that it was created for and saved a doctor being called out needlessly.

Our out of hours service is 'fielded' by NHS Direct so calls go to them anyway. If they feel you should see a GP through for you and get GP to either call for a chat or to arrange to go to local hospital where out of hours is based. Have used it this way a few times.

meant to say they put a call through for you