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Care Opinion

Out of hours GP service

Posted By Kerrie2017

"Out of hours GP service"

About: Douglas Street Community Health Clinic NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as a carer),

My elderly mother had a health issue and I called NHS24 for advice. My mother was advised to attend Douglas St, Hamilton to see a doctor. My mother asked about transport from Wishaw to Hamilton she was told she could not get a taxi courtesy of NHS as she would have a family member with her but would get one if she travelled alone. So are we supposed to send our 82 year old mother in a taxi to OOHs by herself? She needs someone with her because she has a history of falls and does not take everything in. I think it's shocking that there is a policy that requires vulnerable people to travel alone.

Secondly, the out of hours doctor gave her a wrong diagnosis and gave her the wrong advice regarding medication. Thankfully she saw her own GP today who found she had a nasty infection that needed antibiotics as a matter of urgency and the medication the OOH doctors advised was inappropriate. I think the out of hours service is obviously not working and in my opinion, dangerous.

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 6 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 06/09/2017 at 08:56
Published on Care Opinion at 10:18

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi Kerrie

Thanks for your posting on Care Opinion. I was sorry to learn your mother is unwell and I appreciate that this will be a worrying time for you all.

I note your story relates to the issue of transport to the Out of Hours service and the challenges this can present for your mother. I am unclear from your story whether the information provided regarding transport was given by a staff member at NHS 24 or during a return call to you from the Out of Hours Service. It would be good to be able to explore this further to clarify. For calls received by NHS 24 from the NHS Lanarkshire Health Board area, the transport arrangements are normally made by the local Health Board (NHS Lanarkshire) who would contact the caller or patient with an appointment time and location for them to be seen. Discussion in relation to the provision of transport would take place at this time.

On your second point regarding the diagnosis by the Out of Hours GP, this is a matter for NHS Lanarkshire to respond to as the Out of Hours GP's are employed by the local Health Boards and not by NHS 24. I am sure my colleagues within NHS Lanarkshire will be keen to explore your story further.

I am pleased to read that your mother now has the medication required to manage her symptoms and I do hope that she feels much better soon.

Should you wish to contact me directly to enable NHS 24 to review your call to our service, then I would be pleased to hear from you. I can be contacted on 0141 337 4582 or by email at patientaffairs@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk

With kind regards

Shona

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manager

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Update posted by Kerrie2017 (a carer)

I contacted NHS24 who then in turn called my mother, it was NHS24 who called her back with an appointment time and had the conversation with regards to transport. I am aware that the issues surrounding out of hours service is within NHS Lanarkshire's remit hence why they are included in my complaint.

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 6 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 07/09/2017 at 08:18
Published on Care Opinion at 14:09

picture of Shona Lawrence


Hi Kerrie

Thanks for your response which is really helpful. I would very much welcome the opportunity to review the call back to your mother from NHS 24. If you could please contact me directly with some additional detail on 0141 337 4582 or by email at patientaffairs@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk that would be great. This may assist in understanding the detail of the discussion and identify any potential learning for our staff.

Please be assured that we welcome all feedback and I look forward to hearing from you.

I do wish you and your mother well.

Rgds

Shona

Shona Lawrence

Patient Affairs Manager

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Update posted by Kerrie2017 (a carer)

I will respond by email. I am still waiting on NHS Lanarkshire to reply. With regards to NHS Lanarkshire, I want to ask them how it's possible that prescriptions ordered are allowed to go unchecked. My mother has managed to order double the amount of medication needed over last couple of months without either the pharmacist or GP recognising this. This has allowed my mother to become confused and taken either too much of some medicines and not enough of the others. Where are the checks when it comes to repeat prescriptions?

Response from Laura Jack, Service Manager, Specialist Children's Health Services Unit (SCSHU) inc. Paediatric & CAMHS, NHS Lanarkshire 6 years ago
Laura Jack
Service Manager, Specialist Children's Health Services Unit (SCSHU) inc. Paediatric & CAMHS,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 11/09/2017 at 13:14
Published on Care Opinion at 13:31

picture of Laura Jack

Dear Kerrie2017,

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding, and I’m sorry to read of your concerns.

Our Service Manager for NHS Lanarkshire’s Out of Hours has informed me that out of hours GP's are only able to prescribe medication for what a patient presents with on that particular instance and we unfortunately do not review repeat prescribing. All clinical decisions taken during an OOH consultation are subsequently shared with a patient’s GP for follow up.

It would be useful if we discuss your mother’s case further, with her consent, and so if you want to call the Service Manager, Frances Brownlie directly on 01698 377650

Alternatively you can give me a call 01698 858 321 or email laura.jack@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk and I can direct you.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks

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Update posted by Kerrie2017 (a carer)

My point about prescriptions has nothing to do with OOHs.

My complaint is:

1) why was my mother unable to get transport to see OOH doctor?

2) why did the OOH doctor in my view, not carry out the correct tests? Failure to do so resulted in wrong diagnosis

My point about prescriptions is a general one that there appears to be no checks in either GP surgery and pharmacy for the ordering of repeat prescriptions.

Response from Rick Edwards, Service Manager Surgical & Critical Care, University Hospital Hairmyres, NHS Lanarkshire 6 years ago
Rick Edwards
Service Manager Surgical & Critical Care, University Hospital Hairmyres,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 15/09/2017 at 09:39
Published on Care Opinion at 11:17

picture of Rick Edwards

Dear Kerrie2017,

In order for us to give you a considered response to the issues you've raised you'd need to contact Frances or Laura with your mother's details; your mother would also need to provide consent for you to represent her as detailed in Laura's previous response.

I'm sorry we won't be able to answer your points directly through Care Opinion.

Kind regards

Rick

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