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Care Opinion

My fall experience

Posted By Tootsie

"My fall experience"

About: Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary / General Surgery Galloway Community Hospital / Accident & Emergency NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as the patient),

Fracture to the wrist after a fall. I fell on rocks on the shore while walking. I had to get back home, where I phoned NHS 24 but the lines were blocked by too many calls. A friend drove me to A&E Stranraer, who liaised with the Dumfries consultant via computer or other technology.

I had a plaster cast put on but had to go to Dumfries for surgery. I had an operation the next morning. This was all done within 24 hours.

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Responses

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 8 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 08/03/2016 at 15:59
Published on Care Opinion at 16:41

picture of Shona Lawrence

Dear Tootsie

Thank you for sharing your story. I was sorry to learn that you suffered a fractured wrist following a fall but I am pleased to note that you received the required care. I do wish you a full and speedy recovery.

I apologise that when you tried to call NHS 24 our service was experiencing a high volume of calls which prevented you from getting through. We do, from time to time, receive a sharp spike in calls, however we always endeavour, as much as possible, to ensure we have capacity to manage this. I am sorry that you were unable to access our service when you needed advice.

For symptoms such as a suspected fracture however, attendance at Accident & Emergency is normally required.

If you care to let me know exactly when you tried to call, I would be pleased to explore this further for you. I can be contacted at patientaffairs@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk or by telephone on 0141 337 4582.

Thank you again for sharing your experience and I do wish you well.

With kind regards

Shona

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Tootsie (the patient)

Dear Shona,

Thank you for your kind wishes, which are all the more welcome at this difficult time.

I phoned NHS 24 on Saturday 5.3.16 at about 1,30 pm lunchtime. I did expect to be referred to A&E but was not sure what damage I had done, where my nearest A&E was and what transport was available, living on my own in a rural area. I was also confused by the list of conditions for different numbers to press eg was I deserving of 999? where did a badly sprained wrist or limb fit in? etc.

I hope this may be of some use in the valuable job you do.

Best wishes

Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 8 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 09/03/2016 at 12:13
Published on Care Opinion at 14:36

picture of Shona Lawrence

Thank you for your response. This additional information is very helpful to us and means we can explore your feedback further.

I completely understand why you would want to speak to NHS 24 to get advice on your nearest A&E and I am sorry that we were not available to you in your time of need.

I also note your comments in relation to the telephone options available when contact is made with NHS 24. We are currently reviewing these with a view to making it easier for callers who are required to use our service.

I hope your wrist continues to improve and that you are managing well as I do note you have stated that you live on your own.

With kind regards

Shona

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 8 years ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 09/03/2016 at 15:04
Published on Care Opinion at 16:18

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi Tootsie

With the additional information you provided, we have now been able to look at our access levels for when you tried to contact NHS 24. This shows that there were no issues evident for persons calling our service at this time. The maximum wait time for a call to be answered was 4 seconds at 13:15 hrs and at 13:30 hrs this increased slightly to 9 seconds. I hope you find this reassuring.

As explained, we will be reviewing our introductory message in the near future. I do hope that should you be required to call our service again, you find this easy to navigate.

Thanks again for your very welcome feedback.

Take care

Shona

Shona Lawrence

NHS 24 Patient Affairs Manager

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Tootsie (the patient)

Thank you for your replies. I do not know what the normal running time is for NHS 24's introductory message but I had reached the point where I was automatically told a high volume of calls was being experienced and was advised to go online. The time necessary and the difficulty of using a laptop keyboard with one hand precluded this.

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