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Care Opinion

Poor experience of out of hours and GP services

Posted By User5678

"Poor experience of out of hours and GP services"

About: General practices in Lanarkshire Lanarkshire Community Services / GP Out of Hours service NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as a relative),

I was significantly concerned about my Grandfather's health and we contacted NHS24 on Sunday.

We spoke to different call handlers and a nurse, who were all lovely and professional.

However we waited over 4 hours for a return call and a call handler mentioned to us,  that an appointment would be arranged within 4 hours and we waited to take him to this appointment. We were then called after 4 hours to be advised my Grandfather should be seen by his GP urgently on Monday.

Thankfully my Grandfather was seen and had urgent bloods taken on Monday morning.

My Grandmother called today at 16:20 and was advised there was no one there to give results.

I myself called at 17:45 to be told the bloods were in but no results could not be given to me, which I completely understand due to confidentiality. I said I would get my Grandfather / Gran to call to be told they have to phone between 13:00 and 16:00 tomorrow.

Now, I have great admiration for those working in these services. But leaving my elderly Grandfather to await these results with no other tests  arranged is quite unacceptable. 

We still remain significantly concerned about his health and are no further forward over 48 hours later. 

My Grandfather is not fit enough at present to sit in A & E for a long period otherwise we would have been there already.

We now feel stuck on what to do next as we feel that the concerns we have are not being addressed and I am worried that his health will deteriorate further. Our family feel that what should have been assessed as an urgent case is now taking at least 3 days.

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Responses

Response from Dawn Orr, Nurse Consultant - Telehealth and Telecare, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 12 months ago
Dawn Orr
Nurse Consultant - Telehealth and Telecare, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 06/04/2023 at 12:20
Published on Care Opinion at 12:20

picture of Dawn Orr

Dear User5678,

Thank you for taking the time to post your kind words in relation to your contact with NHS 24 and your Grandfathers subsequent experience of services within Lanarkshire. I am sorry to hear that you are still awaiting further results and advice on the next steps within his care.

I respond in relation to your contact with NHS 24. I am sure my colleagues in Lanarkshire will address your other concerns. If you wish to provide any further feedback in relation to your contact with NHS 24, we can share this with the staff you spoke to.

Please contact me on email at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk. Your Grandfathers name, address and date of call would enable us to trace the staff involved.

Thanks again

Dawn

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Response from Michael Coates, Clinical Director, Out of Hours Service, NHS Lanarkshire 12 months ago
Michael Coates
Clinical Director, Out of Hours Service,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 09/04/2023 at 11:49
Published on Care Opinion on 10/04/2023 at 09:11

picture of Michael Coates

Dear User5678,

I very much appreciate you taking the time to advise us of your recent experience regarding your Grandfather. I am sorry to hear that he was unwell and I hope he is now recovering. I respond in relation to your contact with NHS Lanarkshire Out of Hours Service. Should you wish to discuss matters relating to your GP surgery I would advise you to contact the practice manager.

The OOH service is subject to unpredictable and at times, very high demand. On occasions we are unable to meet demand due to shortages of available clinical staffing and on grounds of safety, we have to sign-post patients to other services, such as in-hours General Practice, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the local emergency departments. As was the case when your Grandfather was unwell, if we have reached capacity and to ensure patient safety, our staff are instructed to inform patients to attend their own GP if it can wait, call back NHS24 if the condition deteriorates or present to their local A&E department if urgent care is required.

I am sorry that we did not have sufficient capacity to assist you. If you wish to discuss this further you can contact Patient Affairs by email at:

patientaffairs.primarycare@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

With kind regards, Michael

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