Plymouth mum hospitalised with sepsis after waiting for 111 call back

Louise Sherwin feared she might have died

A new mum believes she could have died if she had waited for the NHS's 111 service to call her back after she became unwell with sepsis.

Louise Sherwin, from Plymouth, rang 111 whilst critically ill and was promised a return phone call.

However, 10 hours later she had still not been contacted, and subsequently spent two weeks recovering in hospital.

An NHS Devon spokesperson apologised and Devon Doctors, the 111 provider, said it was investigating.

NHS Devon said the contract for Devon Doctors to run NHS 111 services will come to an end in September with a new provider, Practice Plus, taking over in October.

A spokesman for Devon Doctors said: "Since being contacted by Ms Sherwin we have instigated a thorough investigation, which is still ongoing.

"While we will seek to take whatever learning we can from this investigation, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further before its conclusion."

Sepsis is a life threatening reaction to an infection, and according to The Royal College of Nursing, the best chance of survival is spotting the condition early on.

Ms Sherwin said she first felt unwell when her daughter Penelope was two weeks old.

'Trust your gut'

She said: "It was a hot summers day and I was shivering and had layers of clothes on. I was freezing cold and knew this wasn't right.

"I had no obvious other illness and knew this was something I had to get treatment for.

"I phoned 111 in the morning. By the time they rang me back I was in hospital. I think if I hadn't gone to hospital I wouldn't still be here today.

"I knew or felt I was going to die and I had this feeling I needed to get help urgently.

"Not getting help via 111... I knew I had to do something about it and you've just got to trust your gut."

Ms Sherwin said she first felt unwell when her daughter Penelope was two weeks old

She is hoping to raise awareness of the symptoms of sepsis after the incident.

A spokesperson for NHS Devon said "We are sorry to hear about Louise's wait and welcome her support in helping to raise awareness of the symptoms of sepsis.

"Out-of-hours and NHS 111 services have been handling record call volumes.

"Following a procurement process involving local residents, a new provider has been appointed to run NHS 111 services from 1 October 2022 and we're confident the new contract will bring benefits for local patients.

"It is critically important that patients can access these services easily and then receive timely, high quality care according to their needs."