11-hour wait for a call back from 111 doctor
PETER Rowley had to wait more than 11 hours to hear from a doctor when he contacted 111 after he was left crippled by excruciating stomach pains.
The 71-year-old, who lives in Norwich, was taken ill on Saturday, October 24 last year. His wife Chris, 64, rang 111 at 8.20pm and twice more over the next hour.
But they were told they would have to wait between two and six hours for a GP to get in touch. ‘I was in agony on the floor,’ said Mr Rowley. ‘I was crying from the pain.’
At 11.20pm, the couple headed to hospital and they were back home by about 6.30am the following morning after Mr Rowley was treated for a bladder infection.
The out-of-hours doctor finally rang at 7.35am – 11 hours and 15 minutes after the first call. service’ and only ‘ partially assured’ of the 111 service.
IC24 initially said the staff concerns were ‘ completely unsubstantiated’ but later issued a statement saying it was ‘ sorry’ about the delays and the ‘service was improving’.
Last year the total pay for the firm’s six directors soared 44 per cent to £750,000. Its highest earning director received £170,000, including a £20,000 pay rise.
IC24 last night issued details of how many GPs were on call during four evenings in January, which it claimed covered the dates the whistleblower had highlighted.
One GP was available on one of the evenings, two on two evenings and three on the fourth.
It also said the proportion of patients sent an ambulance had dropped from 12.2 per cent to 11.9 per cent. In a statement it said: ‘We refute the “whistleblowing” allegations.’
CQC deputy chief inspector Ruth Rankine said it would investigate the concerns raised and seek assurances about how IC24 is ‘ ensuring patients are safe during the interim’.