Mother who feared six-year-old had coronavirus tells of trouble with NHS 111 helpline

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A mother who feared her six-year-old had coronavirus today told of difficulties in dealing with the NHS 111 helpline.

She was advised to take her son, who has had asthma since birth, to an urgent care centre at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington for “testing”.

But she refused to enter the centre, where the call handler had booked an appointment, when she saw the waiting room full of sick patients and a sign saying there would be a three-hour wait.

NHS England said the mother had failed to select the coronavirus option on the 111 system and to make it clear that she was calling about the virus.

It said that because the child had not returned from an affected country and was not displaying all of the symptoms, he was booked a general appointment to check for a respiratory virus.

It also said there had been a “misunderstanding” and that a playback of her 111 call “didn’t raise any concerns”.

The mother, who asked not to be identified, told the Standard that she “100 per cent believed” she was taking her son to be tested for coronavirus — and even packed an overnight bag in case he was admitted to hospital.

Her son had a cough and fever, both symptoms, and a runny nose. Two of his classmates had returned from northern Italy, where there has been an outbreak, though neither has symptoms.

She said she was angry that no attempt was made to check why he had not attended the appointment. More than 35,000 people called the helpline in a 24-hour period over the weekend.

The boy was yesterday diagnosed with a chest infection by a private GP.

An NHS spokesman said: “He was rightly not treated as a suspected case as he did not match criteria set out by Public Health England.”

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