My wife recently had to call 111 due to severe pain in the neck/shoulder area with swelling along with pain radiating across the chest and up her head,
111 called an ambulance to attend, when it arrived the paramedic asked her symptoms and asked abruptly why we would call an ambulance just for this. When they were told that we hadn't and 111 did, their response was that 111 call an ambulance for everything.
After taking her stats, the paramedic told her it was nothing more than a trapped nerve and they couldn't give her any stronger painkillers than she was already taking, and to go to A&E if she wanted anything stronger.
After a day and night of incredible pain, I took her to the A&E department of Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. Within 30 minutes of arriving she was triaged and admitted to Resus, within 4 hours of arriving she was taken into emergency surgery.
This trapped nerve was Mediastinitus, Sepsis had developed in the shoulder/neck area and now was shutting down everything. A tracheostomy was done and she spent 16 days in ICU, 5 of which was in an induced coma, she's now moving into a ward for recuperation which could be quite a while.
If we had taken notice of this completely wrong diagnosis from an ambulance crew and just continued taking over the counter pain relief, then I am positive that my wife would have died in pain at home and the paramedic would have been no wiser.
"Incorrect diagnosis could have led to the death of my wife"
About: Derriford Hospital / Accident and emergency Derriford Hospital Accident and emergency Plymouth PL6 8DH South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust / Emergency ambulance South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Emergency ambulance Exeter EX2 7HY South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust / NHS 111 South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust NHS 111 Exeter EX2 7HY
Posted by Plymouth347 (as ),
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Update posted by Plymouth347 (a relative) nearly 2 years ago
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