"Serious concerns"

THE FACTS:

19 hours before being spoken to by a healthcare professional.

23 hours before being seen by a healthcare professional.

lack of communication from the NHS service on my status.

inappropriate location to pick up prescription.

Could not make an informed choice about my health.

Called 111 at 18:03 on Saturday, following worrying symptoms of very high fever (38.6-38.8) degrees), vomiting, retrosternal transient pains, lower back pain, rapid onset of itchy skin and general headaches and feeling faint. After speaking to an advisor I was told a healthcare professional would call back "within the hour" and to not eat anything. I received a call at 20:37 expecting a doctor and got the admin team telling me there are delays and the doctor will call soon. After struggling to stay awake, by midnight I rang 111 again to find out what was happening. I was told they would "follow it up" and "get back in touch with you soon". I never received that call back... I deceived to go to bed.

I received at call around 8 am on Sunday which I missed as I was asleep and had a high temperature. When I called back I was informed I would have to wait for a call back which came at 12:56 and only lasted 4 minutes! I then had to wait till 14:28 to get a call about an appointment, to then be told the appointment was not till 17:00.

23 hours after I placed the initial call to 111 I received an appointment at St Richards Out of Hours in Chichester. In the mean time I had 3 slices of bread based on the fact they told me not to eat and I thought that was the safest option. When I arrived at my appointment expecting a busy waiting room I found 2 people waiting and when I left no one insight.

After seeing the nurse practitioner, I was prescribed antibiotics which could only be obtained from a pharmacy way out in the sticks of Wittering. A 25 minute drive from the hospital and a further 35 minute drive back to my home. I was unable to get this prescription from anywhere else because it was a Sunday and my appointment was so late on in the day. I felt dreadful by this point and cold and decided to not do the drive and wait till Monday morning to pick up the antibiotics.

I feel very disappointed with the service I received. Its not surprising that people take themselves into A&E. If this is the way the 111 system works, surely a three day history of high temperature warrants a more rapid response especially as there is so much concern about the development sepsis. I felt so unwell that If I had been made aware by the admin team that there was such a long wait to the point where I would not receive treatment for 23 hours then I would have gone to A&E. I was NOT given the opportunity to make an informed choice about my welfare as there was no communication.