This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?

"Nowhere to get non emergency advice out of hours"

My 2 year old has had stomach pain for a week and we have seen our GP twice. The second time being 5pm on a Friday. They said it's likely to be a stomach bug but wanted a urine sample to check for infection. Being a 2 year old it was impossible to get one at the time but we were able to get this Friday evening. I phoned the Cambridge number listed as out of hours on our surgery's website as I wanted to know where to take the sample as the surgery is closed till Monday and the sample is only good for 24 hours plus I didn't want to leave it three days to see if my son does have an infection that could be treated. The number transferred me to 111 where the person who answered the call refused to give me any advice on where I could take the sample & said that in order for our call to continue I would have to go into my son's room and wake him up. Even when I explained that it wasn't an acute emergency & that he's really difficult to get to bed in the best of times they refused to discuss things further and even suggested that my son may need to see the out of hours GP. As a health professional this seems ridiculous to suggest getting a toddler out of bed to cart him off to the out of hours GP when he has literally just seen one, nothing has changed and we have a sample that simply needs testing (as advised by the GP). I understand that they have a script to follow but there does not seem to be any flexibility in this or anyone to offer out of hours advice in Cambridge for non emergency situations. I am very disappointed by this service.

nhs.uk logo
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k