111 aaarrrrrggghhh
 

So last Monday I had cause to ring 111, the not as emergency as 999, but medical advice sought. Ring the number and " If you need covid advice, go to www. I'm stupid and don't know where to find covid advice.com" press 2 to continue.
2......Covid vaccination advice can be found at (see above) press 2 to continue
2.... If you or any of your family have returned from abroad and are showing symptoms of covid ie cough, loss off smell, taste, ( some say I lost that years ago) then go to see above, press 2
2.... covid affects people in different ways, please contact your GP, to speak to someone, press 2 (ah ha)
2..... All our advisors are busy, in the meantime, if you need advice on vaccinations aaaaarrrrrggggggghhhhhh:duh::duh:
I could be lying on the bathroom floor bleeding profusely by now:duh::getmecoat: If I want covid advice I'll look on Facebook or car forums:getmecoat::D
This is in no way a criticism of NHS staff etc, just the way covid seems to be the be all & end all of everything:getmecoat:
I'm going for a lie down now, I may be some time:duh:

Don't let it needle you Ronnie ;):D

If you were lying on the bathroom floor bleeding profusely you've dialed the wrong number!:duh:

It would have been bad planning to be laid on the bathroom floor when you could have crawled into the bath and bled to death leaving a clean floor. Seriously though I hope that things have become easier for you?

I can understand your frustration and would feel the same way if I needed the service. The trouble is, the 'menu' you had to go through probably reflects the fact that the majority of 111 calls being received at the moment are covid related - and most likely from people who are either too intellectually challenged or just too bleedin' lazy to find for themselves one of the many gov and NHS websites that have all the information anyone could possibly want.

had to call 111 about 10 days ago with the start of a stroke; agree the push button whatever didnt help much but when I did get though at 0500 had a 1st responder with me in minutes and an ambulance within 25 mins (live out in the sticks and it was snowy and ice covered roads). Recovering but still numb!

Hope you have a speedy recovery Norman.

Last night was forced by the wife :o to message my Gp about a chest pain I had all day , within 5 mins Gp called me back , told me to ring 999, within 20 mins ambulance at the door, checked me over, within another 30 mins i was in A&E , being prodded and tested, in the end couldn't find anything wrong ? home within 3 hours ..& still got the pain on and off ? :duh:. but still pretty quick all round ..


Chris

The call center is staffed and run by an agency of a quango. When initially set-up the criticism was that the staff fielding the call did not have the knowledge necessary and a crib sheet was inadequate.

Supposedly, the set-up was trying to get qualified people to participate but with this pandemic there are not enough people or time to go-around.

This "press 2" squaring of the circle is employed at the majority of organisations now and is designed to deflect anything and everything!

Kev