Book an ambulance in advance in the future

Sir, – This is not intended as any criticism of those heroes in the NHS who have helped people with Covid.

Like everyone else I salute them with total gratitude. I just want to comment on my fears for the future of out-of-hours medical services.

When I was young in the 1960s there was no problem at all accessing medical treatment any time, day or night.

Your own GP or another doctor from that same practice was available 24/7, including evenings and weekends, and if you weren’t feeling well enough to go to the surgery they came to your house to see you.

That was just what happened and was taken for granted by all concerned.

Over the years, out-ofhours medical care has become progressively less available and today if you are ill outside normal surgery hours the only recourse is a call to NHS 24, which often consists of being put on hold for ages, answering endless screening questions then waiting hours for a callback from a doctor.

Thankfully, we still have the last resort of A&E for immediate and potentially serious problems that can’t wait for the slow-trundling process of NHS 24.

If you are in real trouble you can drive up to the hospital and be in a place where you know the patient will almost certainly have to sit for hours waiting to be seen, but at least they will not die if his/her condition deteriorates suddenly.

But now, unbelievably, there are plans to take that lifeline away – to make A&E appointments available only by pre-booking through NHS 24.

That is no use for accidents or emergencies.

Last Saturday lunchtime I phoned NHS 24 and was in their phone queue for nearly 40 minutes before I even got an answer from a call handler.

I understand the need to deter drunks etc from treating A&E as a drop-in detox service, but what about everyone else with urgent problems?

Will they all be forced to call 999?

And will the next stage be a requirement to book an ambulance several days in advance?

Susan Gordon. Buchan Drive, Perth.