"Ambulance who decides who gets one?"

About: NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) Scottish Ambulance Service / Ambulance Control Centre University Hospital Hairmyres / Emergency Department

(as a carer),

In July my brother became unwell (he suffers from epilepsy) and was assisted by homecare staff. I arrived whilst they were helping him back to bed and made sure he was okay. Later I arrived to find him on the floor, unable to get up. I helped him to his feet and decided he would be more comfortable in the living room. While attempting this he fell and hit his head on the radiator and was clearly not well.

I phoned 999, described what was happening to him and was refused an emergency ambulance. I was told to call 111 which I did and spoke to the call handler. I described what was going on.  They spoke with him and decided that he was not well and went to speak to a nurse who then advised that they could send an ambulance but it would take up to 6 hours.

I decided if I could get help from Homecare staff to get him to Hospital A&E, I would take him myself, which I did. I felt totally alone, disgusted and in fear for for my brothers life. Epilepsy can and does cause death if not dealt with urgently.

At Hairmyres Hospital paramedics helped me get him into A&E department (thankful for their help) and spent 90 mins for triage nurse to look at him. He became more unwell whilst sitting there and at 4 in the morning got into a cubicle, then 30mins later saw a doctor.

May I ask who decides when to send an ambulance?

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Responses

Response from Dawn Orr, Nurse Consultant - Telehealth and Telecare, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 2 years ago
Dawn Orr
Nurse Consultant - Telehealth and Telecare, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24
Submitted on 05/10/2022 at 11:21
Published on Care Opinion at 11:21


picture of Dawn Orr

Dear Orca,

Thank you for taking the time to post on Care Opinion in relation to your brother. I hope he is currently well.

If you wish to provide me with further feedback related to your contact with 111, we will be able to look into this further. You can contact me by email at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk.

Thanks again and best wishes to you and your brother.

Kind regards

Dawn

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Response from Lesley Kay, Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs, Scottish Ambulance Service 2 years ago
Lesley Kay
Patient Experience Team Leader, Corporate Affairs,
Scottish Ambulance Service
Submitted on 05/10/2022 at 12:07
Published on Care Opinion at 12:07


Dear Orca,

Thank you for your feedback. I am really sorry to hear your brother has been unwell and to read of this experience. I hope he is feeling better now.

I would really like to have this matter fully investigated for you if I may? To allow me to do so, I would be most grateful if you could contact our team at sas.feedback@nhs.scot with your brothers name, address and the date when the call was placed to us.

Best Regards to you both and I I look forward to hearing from you

Lesley

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Response from Karen Jamieson, Patient Safety Co-Ordinator, Quality Improvement Team, NHS Lanarkshire 2 years ago
Karen Jamieson
Patient Safety Co-Ordinator, Quality Improvement Team,
NHS Lanarkshire
Submitted on 07/10/2022 at 15:52
Published on Care Opinion at 15:52


Dear Orca

Thank you for taking time to feedback on your experience, we always want to make things better for patients, and we take all feedback seriously. I am sorry to hear of your experience when your brother became unwell. This must have been a very worrying time for you both.

If you wish to contact University Hospital Hairmyres in regards to any aspect of your care, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. so they can understand any issues in more detail and get back to you personally.

PatientAffairs.Hairmyres@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk Tel no 01355 585 325

Kind regards

Karen

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