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Unwell baby and a long time phoning around

Posted By Abcd1012

"Unwell baby and a long time phoning around"

About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) Scottish Ambulance Service / Ambulance Control Centre

(as a parent/guardian),

I called In regard of my unwell baby. Spoke with call handler who did the general assessment who then passed this to a clinician, however I didn’t get to speak to a clinician.

I was told by the assessment this sounded like ambulance issue

My little boy perked up and I didn’t feel an ambulance was necessary however I did want him to be seen my a doctor, hence my reason for contacting nhs 24. So I called the ambulance service to relay this message however was told an ambulance was dispatched as its process.

A nurse then called from ambulance service  and stated she would do a video call with my baby and I. The nurse felt that an ambulance wasn’t needed but if I wanted him seen I had to call back nhs 24 again and they have no way to contact to them 

I felt frustrated and let down by this process as I was looking after an unwell baby and was spending more time on the phone repeating myself, it feels that IT systems should be linked up so that NHS staff can communicate better and patients can be seen in a timely manner. 

This overall process took me over 2 hours on the phone.  

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Responses

Response from Mark Hannan, Head of Corporate Affairs and Engagement, Scottish Ambulance Service 4 months ago
Mark Hannan
Head of Corporate Affairs and Engagement,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 27/02/2025 at 11:33
Published on Care Opinion at 11:33

Hi Abcd1012,

I'm really sorry to hear that your baby was unwell, this must have been really distressing and I hope he's doing ok now and is feeling a bit better.

I'm also really sorry to read about your experiences when you called for assistance. The system is designed to try and help patients in the best possible way, making sure they are treated by the right part of the NHS depending on their condition and symptoms and that unnecessary journeys to A&E are avoided where it is possible to do so. From what you are saying though, it sounds like we may not have got it right on this occasion in terms of your personal experiences and the way the handling of this particular call made you feel. I'd like to apologise that you felt let down.

If you'd like us to look into it in more detail and investigate our handling, we can do this and try and provide some explanation from our perspective of the actions taken as well as looking at any learning we might take from this, could you send some further details to our complaints team (name/date/time of call/background to the case taken from the above) by emailing sas.feedback@nhs.scot.

Thanks for taking the time to feedback your experiences through Care Opinion.

It is appreciated.

Mark

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Response from Laura M, Patient Experience Officer, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 4 months ago
Laura M
Patient Experience Officer, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 28/02/2025 at 12:57
Published on Care Opinion at 12:57

Dear Abcd1012

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion. I am sorry to learn you had cause to contact the 111 service, I appreciate this would have been a worrying time for you, and I do hope your little boy is now feeling much better.

I am replying on behalf of NHS 24. I am sorry that you felt frustrated and let down especially when caring for your unwell baby. If you would like to share more details with me, including your Care Opinion username, I can certainly arrange a review of your call to the 111 service. I can be contacted at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk.

Thank you again for sharing your feedback.

Kind Regards

Laura

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