TWO patients say they have lost all confidence in the NHS 111 number after failing to get through to the service in the middle of the night.
David Hibbert from Merstham suffered complications ten days after an operation last month. He dialled 111 – the new number for urgent queries – at 2am but it just kept on ringing before diverting to London and presenting him with choices to select the area he was in.
In severe pain, he tried 999 instead, but was told his call should go to 111.
Desperate after three hours of trying, he went through to the London service, and was told to go to Accident and Emergency. He then spent three days in hospital.
Meanwhile when 79-year-old Redhill resident Shirley Wakeford thought she was having a heart attack at 3am one night in June, she dialled 111 but went through to an automated message.
She says she became stuck in a loop, unable to hang up.
She eventually used a neighbour's phone to contact her son, who called an ambulance.
The South East Coast Ambulance Service, the lead provider of 111 in Surrey, has told the Mirror there is no record of either patients' phone calls.
That has led to more questions about why the service failed them.
Mr Hibbert, 63, a grandfather-of-five, said: "There is no excuse that for three hours I could not get through to 111 for Surrey. It just kept diverting to London. You are in excruciating pain, and all you are getting is an automated voice asking which London borough you are in.
"It is quite clear to me that Surrey was either understaffed or there were no staff. Even my GP said he had no faith in it."
Mrs Wakeford says she will not use 111 again.
"It was very distressing," she said. "The ambulance man told me to tell my doctor, which I did. It just doesn't work, you can't rely on it."
A spokesman for South East Coast Ambulance Service said there was no record of either number calling the service on the nights in question.
"While not typical, the longest patient delay was a matter of minutes on both days," he said.
"It seems there is an issue which isn't with us as a provider of 111 in this area, but a national platform these people are being referred to.
"It is not a major issue we have been made aware of from other calls.
"We have seen some huge improvements since the staged launch and we believe we are offering a good service to thousands of people week in, week out," he added.
We asked NHS England about the issue but they were not able to respond before we went to press.
For all inquiries or complaints related to NHS 111 here, call 01737 364459.
