How do I complain about NHS Direct/ambulance call centre?

[scouserat]

Just though I'd ask whether anyone knows who I complain to about NHS Direct and the Emergency Services ambulance call centre.

 

A quick rundown of what happened. At 3.30am on Tuesday morning my wife woke up with what she thought were stomach pains caused by my cooking! She said she felt bloated and a bit sick, but still went into work on the Tuesday. She felt like she was burning up all day and several of her colleagues in the office also mentioned it, but she soldiered on and did a full day. When she got in the pain just started to escalate and she by 8pm was literally screaming in pain. For her this is unusual as she has a high pain threshold and she said the pain in her abdomen was 25 on a level of 1 -10. I immediately suspected appendicitis as it was on the right hand side so rang NHS Direct. Their attitude was appalling. All they seemed to be concerned with was whether she had any of the classic signs of a heart attack or stroke, and said as she hadn't been sick or felt nauseous it was 'unlikely to be appendicitis'. If it got worse then I was to call them back, but otherwise wait for a nurse to call us. All the time my partner is screaming in agony.

 

Within 10 minutes I had to ring NHS Direct back up and asked to speak to someone immediately, or to get permission to call for an ambulance. They said that we'd have to wait for a nurse to call us first, and not being happy about this I decided to call emergency services. The time now is about 9pm. I called emergency services and got put through to the ambulance call centre. Their response was they'd also get a nurse to call back. At 9.30pm a nurse eventually called and, after briefly speaking to my partner, said they'd see if there was an 'emergency medical practitioner' (whatever this is - I don't know) in the area and if not they'd send an ambulance. The ambulance didn't turn up until 10.45pm and we weren't told anything if we tried to follow it up by calling again. When she eventually got to hospital she was diagnosed with appendicitis with minor complications, and she had it sorted on Thursday evening and got back home tonight. To give you an idea of how severe the pain was though, she was given 30 milligrams of morphine over the course of 5 hours and it didn't even touch the pain.

 

I can't fault the paramedics or the hospital she was sent to. They've been great and really looked after her, but my issue is with NHS Direct and the ambulance call centre. I've always been told that appendicitis should be treated seriously as if the appendix ruptures it can be fatal, and having had several members of my family having appendicitis I know for a fact that they were always dealt with quickly.

 

So can someone tell me how to make a formal complaint to these people (we're covered by Nottingham Ambulance Service)? I'm not looking for any compensation, merely an admission they might have messed up this time and an apology to my wife. Almost 3 hours for an ambulance for a person who was obviously not putting it on and getting worse by the minute is unacceptable. I know they'll come back with the whole thing about the ambulance service being abused etc, but even a nurse I spoke to said off-the-record that she thought the wait was completely unacceptable.

 

Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated.

Edited November 21, 2010 by scouserat
Typo

[reallymadwoman]

Contact PALS through the hospital.

[rebel11]

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/ContactUs/ComplaintProcedures/index.htm

[MARTIN3030]

We are happy to announce that we now have an official NHS representitive on the site.

Hopefully they will add some comments here.

[Guest NHS Direct - Official Representitive]

Hi there SR,

 

I am sorry to hear you have had a bad experience with NHS Direct. We do value feedback to ensure that we can continue to improve our services. In answer to your question, you can complain directly to us via the 'contact us' page on our website or by calling 0845 4647. Please do get in touch with us so we can investigate this matter further.

 

I hope your wife is feeling better.

 

Our apologies again, and best wishes.

 

Sincerely,

 

NHS Direct

[the_fugue]

Just though I'd ask whether anyone knows who I complain to about NHS Direct and the Emergency Services ambulance call centre.

 

A quick rundown of what happened. At 3.30am on Tuesday morning my wife woke up with what she thought were stomach pains caused by my cooking! She said she felt bloated and a bit sick, but still went into work on the Tuesday. She felt like she was burning up all day and several of her colleagues in the office also mentioned it, but she soldiered on and did a full day. When she got in the pain just started to escalate and she by 8pm was literally screaming in pain. For her this is unusual as she has a high pain threshold and she said the pain in her abdomen was 25 on a level of 1 -10. I immediately suspected appendicitis as it was on the right hand side so rang NHS Direct. Their attitude was appalling. All they seemed to be concerned with was whether she had any of the classic signs of a heart attack or stroke, and said as she hadn't been sick or felt nauseous it was 'unlikely to be appendicitis'. If it got worse then I was to call them back, but otherwise wait for a nurse to call us. All the time my partner is screaming in agony.

 

Within 10 minutes I had to ring NHS Direct back up and asked to speak to someone immediately, or to get permission to call for an ambulance. They said that we'd have to wait for a nurse to call us first, and not being happy about this I decided to call emergency services. The time now is about 9pm. I called emergency services and got put through to the ambulance call centre. Their response was they'd also get a nurse to call back. At 9.30pm a nurse eventually called and, after briefly speaking to my partner, said they'd see if there was an 'emergency medical practitioner' (whatever this is - I don't know) in the area and if not they'd send an ambulance. The ambulance didn't turn up until 10.45pm and we weren't told anything if we tried to follow it up by calling again. When she eventually got to hospital she was diagnosed with appendicitis with minor complications, and she had it sorted on Thursday evening and got back home tonight. To give you an idea of how severe the pain was though, she was given 30 milligrams of morphine over the course of 5 hours and it didn't even touch the pain.

 

I can't fault the paramedics or the hospital she was sent to. They've been great and really looked after her, but my issue is with NHS Direct and the ambulance call centre. I've always been told that appendicitis should be treated seriously as if the appendix ruptures it can be fatal, and having had several members of my family having appendicitis I know for a fact that they were always dealt with quickly.

 

So can someone tell me how to make a formal complaint to these people (we're covered by Nottingham Ambulance Service)? I'm not looking for any compensation, merely an admission they might have messed up this time and an apology to my wife. Almost 3 hours for an ambulance for a person who was obviously not putting it on and getting worse by the minute is unacceptable. I know they'll come back with the whole thing about the ambulance service being abused etc, but even a nurse I spoke to said off-the-record that she thought the wait was completely unacceptable.

 

Any help, as always, is greatly appreciated.

 

I was very concerned to read your experiences regarding your wife and NHS Direct - sadly, I have heard similar stories and it seems that NHS Direct's remit is limited to heart attacks and strokes despite there being many other serious conditions that could also take a life within a short time if professional help is not sought. Your wife could have been suffering from a bowel obstruction which,if not treated, could have dire consequences. Perhaps NHS Direct have to follow 'set scripts' which, of course, cannot cover all eventualities, hence your wife's experience. I would not bother with NHS Direct in cases of such extreme pain - 999 and ambulance is a better option or else telephone your GP surgery for advice/out-of-hours telephone number. Above all, do not waste time with NHS Direct - precious time could be lost whilst they 'faff about' with nurses etc etc calling back 'sometime, whenever'. My experience??? I suffered a sudden bowel obstruction having previous been fit and well.....within hours I had had most of my colon removed (gangrenous) and awoke in intensive care. I had been within hours of death - Fortunately my husband had called an 'on-call' GP who arranged pain relief and ambulance. PLEASE....no one waste time with NHS Direct in similar situations - get immediate help and possibly save a life. I am glad that your wife is now on the road to recovery and hope that you get some explanations for your experience with NHS Direct