"Brilliant experience with the 111 service"

My 8 month old son woke up wheezing heavily in the middle of the night. We were unsure of what to do, but knew that things can go downhill quickly with babies and with him being our first, there is always the tendency to assume the worst and panic. So we rang the 111 service, which I have not used up until now. We spoke to a very kind lady on the phone, who talked us calmly through her questions and let us know that she had sent a paramedic on the way and that the ambulance was on standby.

The paramedic arrived within 30 mins, which for 2AM in North Devon was great. He was superb, very understanding, professional and personable. He carried out a few tests and observations and didn't blame us for overreacting and bringing him out. Thankfully in the end, he came to the conclusion there was nothing seriously wrong with him, so we agreed with the paramedic that there was no need to take him to hospital. The paramedic assured us however, that if his breathing worsened then we were to ring 999 straightaway or drive him ourselves up to North Devon District Hospital. All the way through he made us feel like we were in safe hands and weren't wasting his time in any way, even though it was quite clear that our son just had a chesty cough, rather than the imminent death experience that we had hastily concluded in the panic.

Overall a brilliant experience of the 111 and emergency services. Fortunately we were lucky enough not to need a hospital admission, but I feel fully confident the systems and more importantly that we have in North Devon.