"Clear from the start that she would be able to assist us"

We came away on holiday to Westward Ho! Our daughter was tired but had no other Covid symptoms. She then developed a sore throat & blocked nose. We tested, and got a faint positive.

Knowing how susceptible people with Downs Syndrome are to serious illness from Covid, we immediately started to try and get access to the anti-viral treatment for which she qualified.

The situation was non-standard in that we were living in a rental property away from our normal health support network. I initiated several possible routes to access this medication - calling the Devon ICB, calling a local GP, calling our own GP, and calling NHS111 which transferred to the local NHS111 service. It is fair to say that most people I talked to were unclear about what the correct procedure was to get anti-virals in our situation.

The person I talked to on the local NHS111 service (Julie) was clear from the start that she would be able to assist us. She assessed the situation, went through relevant screening questions, and proceeded to organise the medication efficiently. She was supportive throughout, and gave us the option of getting back to her if the medication that she despatched didn’t come through.

By early evening on the same day as she first tested positive we were able to start our daughters treatment. Of the various routes I investigated to get the required medication two of them had positive outcomes, but the route via Julie was the swiftest and it was managed in a sympathetic and supportive way, with clear communication throughout. Thankyou.