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Kept interrupting

Posted By RayFaeTroon

"Kept interrupting"

About: Crosshouse Hospital / Ayrshire Doctor on Call (ADOC) NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) Scottish Ambulance Service / Emergency Ambulance

(as a service user),

After my son called 111 on a Friday in July, around 8pm, then a callback around 9pm, the 111 nurse advised ambulance attending. That service was as usual, excellent. 

However, at approximately 11pm a GP stating they were attached to the ambulance service called to advise us, after some conversation, to either self present ED or ADOC. 

Not being confidently fit to make own way, GP declined us the ambulance, and said only two options were as already noted. 

After some 'discussion' a hospital taxi was offered for the inbound journey, but unable to confirm if it would be a return journey if not admitted.

This would cause me more stress knowing my wife may have to drive solo, which with brain injury symptoms, is not guaranteed, as to drive with a migraine, for example, is not safe for her, or anyone for that matter, to do so.

Also with her fatigue, a daily occurrence, safety over driving is paramount, and we cannot guarantee in advance her availability to drive

This GP also kept interrupting my son trying to repeat the information given already, he had to ask them, politely but firmly, under duress to give me a chance to explain. 

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Responses

Response from Lynne C, Patient Experience Officer, Nursing & Care, NHS 24 2 weeks ago
Lynne C
Patient Experience Officer, Nursing & Care,
NHS 24

Manages patient feedback

Submitted on 24/07/2025 at 11:17
Published on Care Opinion at 12:02

Dear RayFaeTroon

Thank you for sharing your story on Care Opinion. I’m responding on behalf of NHS 24 regarding the part of your story that relates to your call to our 111 service.

I’m really sorry to learn that you had cause to contact us and I hope things have improved for you since then.

I’m delighted that you found your experience with 111 to be excellent and that this reflects your previous experiences too. It means a lot to us to hear this.

If you wish to share some further information with me, including your Care Opinion username, I can locate the NHS 24 staff that managed your call and share your Care Opinion story with them. We always like to ensure that staff see positive feedback to reinforce for them how valued their care is when people call our services.

You can contact me by email at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk

Thank you again for sharing your experience and I wish you all the best.

Kind Regards

Lynne

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Response from Marie Kennedy, Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service last week
Marie Kennedy
Patient Experience Manager, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service

Submitted on 30/07/2025 at 08:29
Published on Care Opinion at 08:29

picture of Marie Kennedy

Dear RayFaeTroon,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience on CareOpinion. I see that your story relates to a number of services and I’m responding on behalf of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS)

Firstly, I would like to sincerely apologise for the delay in responding to your story. Due to staffing capacity issues, our ability to reply as promptly as we would wish has been impacted and I’m very sorry for any frustration this may have caused.

I’m also sorry to hear about the distressing circumstances you and your family faced. While I note your kind words regarding the care provided by NHS 24, which I’m sure their team will greatly appreciate, I understand that you were dissatisfied with several aspects of the service provided by SAS most notably around communication.

We would welcome the opportunity to look into this further and discuss the care provided by the Scottish Ambulance Service in more detail. If you feel comfortable doing so, please email our team at sas.feedback@nhs.scot. To help us locate the relevant records and ensure we can share your feedback with the appropriate staff, we kindly ask that you include the following information in your email:

-The date, time, and address where the ambulance attended

- Your wife’s full name

- Your CareOpinion username, so we can easily link your feedback to your story

Once we receive this information, our team will be able to review the case and respond appropriately.

Thank you again for bringing this to our attention. Feedback like yours is vital in helping us understand where improvements can be made and how we can better support patients and their families.

Warm regards,
Marie Kennedy
Patient Experience Manager
Scottish Ambulance Service

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