The scramble to get antibiotics has left a patient and her husband feeling like they have passed from one health service to another, which they say is encouraging patients to misuse NHS resources.
Beverley Mighall fell ill with bronchitis on December 10 and still had not received the medication she needed more than ten days later, forcing the family to cancel their Christmas plans.
As Beverley was unfit to drive and her husband Steve is disabled, a telephone appointment with Barnbygate’s GP was scheduled for 13 December, who had to wait until 6:30pm to receive it.]
Beverley was then told antibiotics could not be prescribed over the phone, and the GP suggested she go for a walk in -3°C weather.
Beverley’s husband, Steve, said: “She has a long history of bronchitis, probably 15 times in the last 20 years.
“They tried to deceive her by saying that she has a bug that is going around. A walk is the worst thing to do with bronchitis.
“It made me and my wife so angry that I felt like there was nothing we could do.”
Steve tried to book a face-to-face appointment, but despite ringing at exactly 8:30 am when the lines opened, he was told there were no appointments available.
“I said, what are we supposed to do? She was up coughing all night and she couldn’t breathe right,” Steve said.
“The GP told us to call 111 and we waited an hour on the line to be told there was nothing they could do because the GP’s office was open.”
As Beverley’s condition worsened without the antibiotics, her son took her to the Urgent Care Center, where she faced a four-hour wait in a packed waiting room.
After she started to feel sick and passed out and the nurses showed up like they “didn’t want to be there”, Beverley left because she was afraid she would feel worse.
Both the GP and 111 suggested that Beverley should call an ambulance to access care where antibiotics might be prescribed, Steve said.
He added: “They are just passing patients from one to the other and they don’t care.
“They are urging people to call 999, it’s disgusting. The ambulance can’t even prescribe antibiotics, it’s a waste of resources.
“It makes me angry that so many other people are in the same situation and I want changes to be made.
“If my wife got the help she needed, she would have been on her way to being better and would have been able to enjoy Christmas.”
A spokesperson for NHS Notting-ham and Nottinghamshire said: “We are very sorry to hear about this patient’s experience.
“GP practices have been experiencing record numbers of calls recently due to growing concerns about strep A and scarlet fever. The practices continue to work extremely hard to ensure that patients receive the care and treatment they need while addressing the current pressures. 111 and hospital services have also experienced pressures above usual winter patterns, due to covid and high levels of flu.
“Additional measures are being implemented to help manage the increased demand for hospital and general medical services and we continue to work with our partners to do everything we can to see and treat patients as quickly and safely as possible.
“We have additional capacity in a wide range of hospital and community services, and we are working closely with ambulance services to deal with less severe cases in the community.
“All the organizations are working together to keep services safe and ensure people can access the care they need.
“Although we cannot comment on individual patients, we always encourage patients to contact our patient experience team on 0115 8839570 or email: [email protected] if they feel they need to make a complaint. or talk to someone about your experience.”
A spokesman for Sherwood Forest Hospitals, which runs the Newark Urgent Care Centre, said: “Demand for NHS services remains high across the country at the moment and our local hospitals are no different, making it take longer. than any of us would like. patients to access the treatment they deserve.
“Our NHS staff are working hard to ensure that patients can continue to access the treatment they deserve as quickly as possible and although we cannot comment on individual cases, we would like to apologize for any delays.”
