I might come back as doggie doo but the couple of times l have called this service, l have received not only inexperienced staff but have been subjected to a ridiculous line of questioning. My first health concerned was related to the first UTI l had ever had. The then nurse asked me if l had been deep sea diving or had eaten mushrooms! I knew l had an UTI and at the time my concerns were about the chills l was having. Because of her poor advice not to seek immediate medical attention, l ended up in hospital for a week with sepsis & atrial fibrillation.

My more recent contact was because of my covid infection which, apart from confirming on three RATS over as many days, was not in dispute in my mind. My reason for calling was due to difficulties breathing and how to gauge when l would need to call an ambulance. The operator was not skilled in actually listening to me, which due to my breathlessness took a lot of energy. When she announced she was going to refer to her checklist & l then anticipated a query as to whether l had been 'deep sea diving',...l gave up & excused myself from the call.

It's really important that these young nurses are also taught critical thinking abilities and listen to what they are being told and not just confuse the situation with a checklist of what can be essentially, nonsense.

A well functioning nurse on call service would take a lot of pressure off the ambulance & hospital system.