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111 and doctors

Murcy

Sorry, quite long.

I felt extremely unwell yesterday, with severe belly pain, unable to eat or drink most of the day, hadn't slept very well, and feeling nauseous.  In the very hours of the morning I called 111 and was advised to call my GP when they opened, which I did.  I think the receptionist said the GP (or someone) would call back soon.  After a couple of hours nothing happened so I called 111 again who said they would email the GP to contact me within an hour, I also called the GP again as advised.  Again nothing happened so I called the GP again and this time was told that GPs can't just call when 111 says so and that 111 give confusing information.  I spoke to 111 again and the person confirmed the GP receptionist was correct and the previous call handler shouldn't have said that the GP would call me within the hour.  Anyway, the day went on, still in severe pain, unable to eat or drink, having been sick in the morning.  By the end of the afternoon I'd given up on the GP and called 111 again, a nurse called me back and said she would ask the out of hours GP to call me urgently and they started sat 6.30pm. Shattered, I went to bed before 8pm with the phone by my side but no-one called me. Neither my GP nor the out of hours GP.  I didn't feel safe to drive, walking was painful and made me feel sick, I had no-one to be with me (my friend kindly got me some over the counter meds from the chemist at the end of his work day), I couldn't cope with the thought of going to A&E and spend hours around crowds, noise, lights etc.  As it turns out, I slept right through and am feeling better this morning though still exhausted and slightly sore belly. But it concerns me that this could have been a serious issue and I feel extremely letdown not only by the system but by myself.  I think I panic when I don't know what's going on, I made the mistake of looking online and got a very alarmist message from AI, but also when I am told the GP will call and they don't I get very frustrated, it's like they're not following the rules.  I start ruminating about the system, about myself, I think I make a mountain out of nothing and feel silly for over-reacting, yet at the same time worry that if something really serious was going on I have no safety net and there is a very thin line between life and death.  I live alone, in my late 50s and got an autism diagnosis last year. 

Does anyone relate? Any advice about how to handle this sort of situation please? Thanks if you've read this far.

Parents

  • It's frightening, when something goes wrong and you don't know what to do.

    I'm a woman, so have a past experience for severe stomach aches and so what I would do might not apply. I'd take paracetamol and wait a day or so before ringing my GP. If I was convinced something was seriously wrong, I'd ring for an ambulance. 

    My GP has never failed to ring back but in your circumstances, I would have rung the GP surgery again in the early afternoon if no one had. (I haven't rung 111 in a quarter of a century, since I had a symptoms that were wrong during the night and they tried to cvonvince me I was having a normal period. They wouldn't believe that I knew the difference between a period and what I was experiencing.) If my GP didn't ring back, I'd ring again before the durgery closed and ask for advice. I'd also want to know what they advised me to do when they didn't ring back, so I was prepared if it happened again.

  • in reply to Alexa

    I must say my experiences calling 111 have been quite disappointing in the past. It often feels like there are no medically qualified staff available, and you have to go through a checklist as if speaking to a computer. As a result, the advice can be unhelpful, or they simply tell you to go to your local A&E, which you could have done anyway. I tend to think the 111 service was designed to give the impression that the government was genuinely improving the NHS, but in practice it feels more cosmetic than truly helpful. Now, I usually go straight to A&E if I have an emergency - at least there you are eventually seen by a real doctor.

  • in reply to lostmyway

    Thanks for replying.  I think you're absolutely right and all the call handlers want is get through their script asap. Glad to say I'm better today.  

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