"Experience with trying to get help for an elderly lady when she was having a medical emergency"

I'm a carer and visit elderly people in their homes. While I was visiting a woman, who is about to turn 90, she said she wasn't feeling well and I could tell she was feeling poorly and was not her usual self. She had severe abdominal pains, a swollen abdomen and wasn't able to pass urine.

I called 999 and the member of staff who answered connected me to 111. The member of staff I spoke to asked lots of questions and asked the elderly lady questions as well on speaker phone. It took quite a lot of time. They then put me on hold. After awhile we were disconnected and a 999 person came back on. That person said I had to start the process over. So they connected me to 111 and this time I spoke to a different person.

They asked many questions and eventually said they would refer me to the GP surgery. So when I got off the phone with them I called the surgery. After listening to a very long recording and waiting, someone answered and didn't sound very interested in helping anyone. She asked -Does she have to be seen today?, as if they couldn't imagine that being possible. Then after I tried to explain that she did indeed need to be seen today and ASAP, they said they would let someone know.

When I got off the phone with them, I wasn't at all assured that anyone from the surgery would see her anytime soon. I tried calling 999 again and was again connected to 111. This time the member of staff I spoke to asked if I'd called the district nurse, so I got off that call and called the district nurse number right away.

I was so relieved when I was told a nurse would come soon. In the meantime, the elderly lady was in excruciating pain and I was worried she would pass out. She kept going to the toilet saying she needed to wee but then would say nothing would come.

After waiting 3 hours from the time I called the district nurse, I got a phone call from the them saying they couldn't come. I told the member of staff the symptoms of the elderly lady and they  said in an accusatory tone - Why didn't you call us sooner?! I was very upset by that and asked them why no-one had come. Then they said they would call an ambulance.

In the meantime my care manager had managed to persuade an ambulance to come as well. So finally, after trying for 5 hours an ambulance came and took her to the hospital.

This all was very upsetting to me as it made the NHS services seem like a joke and like they didn't care at all for this elderly woman. In this country I thought there would be much better service. It should not be so difficult to get help for an elderly person in a medical emergency as I experienced.

I am left feeling very disappointed and angry with the whole experience. The only positive thing was the paramedics who came were helpful and professional.