A mum from Edinburgh has been left gravely concerned after waiting 90 minutes on the phone with NHS 24 with no response after her daughter developed a worrying rash.
Stephanie Perez, 32, from Oxgangs made the call to rush her daughter to A&E on Monday, November 28 after her two-year-old daughter became progressively worse with a high temperature and rash over the weekend before becoming lethargic.
But after 90 minutes of waiting to speak to someone on the NHS phone line, the worried mum took little Ella to the Sick Kids where they waited a further two hours to be seen.
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Reflecting on the stressful experience, Stephanie says if she knew it would take so long to get help from NHS 24 she would have gone to the emergency department much sooner but had followed the NHS guidance in place to take pressure of A&E departments.
When visiting the Sick Kids at the Royal Infirmary the mum described the hospital as packed and told Edinburgh Live that there was a makeshift examination room put up in the middle of the waiting room to deal with the huge amount of kids and sick babies waiting to be seen.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live the mum-of-three said: "My two-year-old Ella was unwell since Thursday (November 24) and had a really high temperature.
"I gave her Calpol and monitored it but it just got worst over the weekend. She got a red rash on her cheeks and then on her body so I was getting really worried.
"I kept pressing a glass to it and then I tried to phone the doctors on Monday and then the chemist but they were closed to a local bank holiday.
"She got progressively worse so I phoned NHS 24, I have used it before and got through straight away - the automated message said there are wait times of up to 60 minutes.
"I had no other option so stayed on the phone waiting to speak to someone. After 30 minutes on the phone, it cut out and then I phoned back and was on the phone for another 60 minutes."
With the toddler's condition getting worse and unable to seek any medical advice the worried mum made a call and rushed to the emergency department.
She explained: "At this point, I was too concerned and went to the hospital just in case. The Sick Kids A&E was absolutely packed, there were sick children and babies everywhere.
"They had to set up a makeshift assessment room in the middle of the waiting room as so many kids were waiting to be seen.
"We saw a nurse after an hour and then after another hour or so we saw a doctor who listened to her chest and diagnosed Ella with a chest infection.
"I'm so glad we went, it could have been much worse. She was given antibiotics and is slowly recovering now.
"The doctor said the red rash on her face and then across her body was her body trying to fight the infection.
"It was terrifying you just don't know with rashes as there are so many out there."
Stephanie continued: "It was very eventful and stressful we were sitting in a waiting room with so many sick kids packed in and Covid restrictions aren't really in place anymore. They could catch anything in there.
"We arrived at A&E at around 14.30 and got seen in a really bizarre room with loads of machines - I think it was an operating theatre because all the other rooms were full."
Little Ella is on the mend but the weekend was traumatic for both mother and daughter.
The mum said: "She is off nursery at the moment because she is on antibiotics and she is getting better.
"I just wish I had gone sooner rather than later, I'm lucky I drive - think of all the other people trying to access healthcare right now who can't get to the hospital."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "NHS 24 works hard to ensure calls to its 111 service are answered as quickly as possible.
"We recognise that some patients have experienced longer wait times than normal due to increased demand.
“We will continue to support the service as it expands its services and workforce in line with demand.”
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A spokesperson for NHS 24 also said: "As with the whole health service, NHS 24 is seeing increased demand and as a result, we have significantly expanded services and our workforce so that we can support as many people as possible.
"However, at peak times there will be a longer than usual waiting time to get through to our service and the messaging and measures outlined are designed to ensure people can get the right care in the right place at the right time.
"At the start of their call to 111, people are given a range of options to safe and effective care via our automated telephone messaging system."
They also added: "At the busiest times this will also advise the latest call wait time and advise callers where they can get care if their needs are less urgent. For example, in the case of an emergency, callers will always be advised to dial 999.
"The clear signposting gives people options that mean for non-urgent concerns they may choose to call their GP when the practice reopens or seek help from their local community pharmacy, or via our symptom checkers on NHSinform.scot."
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