"Severe pain in my lumbar region"

I phoned the 111 service when I had severe pain in my lumbar region. They took all my details and told me someone would ring me in a short while. I then got a call from the 111 service asking me to go to the out of hours service at the Croydon University Hospital where they would make an appointment for me.

When I went to the hospital I was seen by a doctor who examined me and prescribed pain killers. I was also advised to go and see my GP when the surgery reopened.

111 provided a good service, calling me back quite quickly and making an appointment for me so that I would not be kept waiting for long with the pain I was in.