"I felt fobbed off"

I contacted 111 following an urgent triage from my GP regarding a pathological lab result (SHBG level of 180 nmol/L). Instead of a clinical review, I was met with a call handler who was clearly reading from a script and in my view lacked even basic medical literacy.

Despite explaining a complex endocrine crisis and a liver reaction to my current medication, the handler reduced my systemic collapse to a headache. Shockingly, the clinician I spoke to didn't even know what Patchs was—a primary NHS communication tool.

Being fobbed off back to a GP that is already at capacity is not healthcare; it is a violation of duty of care. In my experience, if you have a complex or serious condition, 111 is currently a ticking exercise that fails to recognize urgent pathology. Absolutely dangerous.