"Experience of NHS 111 and A&E"

About a week before Christmas I was having difficulty breathing and called 111.

The person who answered the call took all my details – why is the first question about your age? I feel as if they want to write me off even before I have begun! I also felt there needed to be someone with a medical background to answer the call as it then took quite a while for them to decide whether I should be called back and the next action that needed to be taken.

However, I did get a call back and a doctor also came to see me. He decided I really needed to be in hospital, particularly as he did not have any oxygen to give me for my breathing difficulty. He insisted I was so poorly I needed to go in an ambulance so that I would be seen immediately and not kept waiting in the A&E unit.

Whilst in A&E the doctor came to take some blood. I explained I had small veins and would need a butterfly but he went ahead without this and had a real job getting the needle in. I ended up with a very badly bruised arm which could have been prevented,

I was later moved to the AMU ward where I was given tablets to reduce the fluids in by body. As a result I needed a commode which was fine. However, it was not emptied and when I needed the commode again I ended up using the same one again and it overflowed. This was both embarrassing and unnecessary.

Whilst not wishing to complain the food was always stone cold. I really could have done with one hot meal a day, even the porridge was cold,

I cannot fault the people on the ward, they were all very kind and caring.