"acted very promptly and gave the best care"

My partner has MS and is on a catheter. At about 7: 00 pm on this evening my partner was in bed, when I looked in on her I was alarmed to see the urine was a bright red colour. I called 111 as I had not seen this happen before. The operator took all the details and said a doctor would call within an hour but I should call immediately if my partner’s condition changed.

My partner’s carer arrived shortly afterwards and thought her breathing was shallow and that I should call 111 again. This time the operator called for an ambulance straightaway, within minutes the ambulance had arrived. The ambulance crew contacted Croydon University Hospital and advised them that my partner was being brought in. At the hospital she was taken in to A&E where she was kept in overnight and then transferred to a ward for a further week.

I cannot fault the 111 service – they acted very promptly and gave the best care. The care my partner received at the hospital was also great, the only problem was around her discharge.

I appreciate following a urinary tract infection they would not discharge her until they were satisfied that the infection had cleared up to a point where they were satisfied. We were told my partner would be discharged on Saturday but we were then told by the doctor that she did not have all the results of the tests so was unable to discharge her. Nothing happens on a Sunday so she was not discharged until Monday. It’s frustrating.