I FEEL that I have to respond to the out of hours service which is up for debate with regard to the local hospital.
Unfortunately I have had recently to experience this very situation. On having an asthma attack in the early hours of the morning and my husband ringing all the relevant telephone numbers in order to speak to a doctor, he was then asked by the doctor as to whether he could get me to Exeter Accident and Emergency.
At 4.30 in the morning my husband and daughter drove me to Exeter. Feeling as unwell as I did, I was extremely worried that I may not have made it to the hospital in time, which made me feel even more unwell and concerned.
Arriving there safely thanks to my husband and daughter, I was seen almost straight away. Having been put on a nebuliser for about ten minutes and being given two different types of medication, we then obviously had to travel back home to Okehampton.
If the hospital in Okehampton had been open then this trip may not have been needed, along with the trauma that I suffered during this experience, and the worry that my husband and daughter went through.
Mrs P A Mallett
Tarka Close
Okehampton