"I Was Left to Suffer"

I’m sharing my experience because I felt completely unsupported while seriously unwell. I hope this highlights just how urgently our system needs to improve when it comes to treating people in distress — not just physically, but emotionally and safely too.

I suddenly became extremely unwell — likely due to norovirus, which had been spreading at my workplace. I experienced severe nausea for 3 days, constant violent vomiting lasting 8 hours, extreme dehydration, and exhaustion. I couldn’t drink, eat, or stand. I was seeing black spots and couldn’t turn my head or move position even in my bed. 

I called 111 out of desperation. They initially said an ambulance would be sent — which gave me hope. But later, the ambulance team called back and said they would simply refer me to my GP instead. They also said they would sent notes to my GP from the call we had but did not do this. When I was speaking to the ambulance service over the phone the staff member sounded extremely rude like I was wasting their time and I was overreacting. When I told them I was also on a GLP-1 drug injection they told me this is normal, when for me this was not normal at all and never happened before. 

When I explained how dehydrated and unwell I was, 111 staff told me this kind of sickness is normal with this virus, they're extremely busy, and they don’t know what else they can do.

I was told I could go to A&E if I wanted, but told they wouldn’t be able to do much to help me either. 

That response made me feel completely dismissed. They did not take my dehydration or distress seriously. I wasn’t offered an in-person review, no advice on monitoring for red flags, and no suggestion of even basic help like IV fluids or anti sickness medication. 

The GP received no handover or notes from 111 or the ambulance call. When I reached out to them directly, I wasn’t given an appointment or call. I only received a generic message telling me to sip fluids and eat bland food — something I was clearly unable to do.

I spent hours vomiting violently, with no food or fluids for over 48 hours. I was severely dehydrated, scared, and weak — and yet no one checked if I was stable or needed urgent support. The mental and physical toll this took on me was devastating.

I am still dehydrated even with electrolytes. I still become dizzy. This interaction with the NHS has completely left me with no trust in them. 

I wasn’t asking for anything extreme. I needed a basic medical review. Compassion. Monitoring. Some guidance on when to escalate. But I was left alone to manage a serious illness, feeling invisible.

I’m sharing this because it can’t just be brushed off as the system being busy. I believe that people are being harmed by this kind of treatment, and I don’t want anyone else to go through what I did.