A widow is calling for changes to the NHS 111 service after she was left hanging on while her husband lay dying.

Wendy Smart’s husband Brian had a fall in the night and became unwell, so she called her doctor’s surgery just after 9am on Saturday, December 6, but their out-of-hours message directed her to call 111.

However, Mrs Smart, 67, of Wellfields Drive, Bradpole, said when she called the number she was on the phone for more than ten minutes over two separate calls – and not only was no-one picking up the telephone there was no answering message to even register her call.

“At the time, my husband wasn’t that ill so I called 111 but there was just nothing. 

“There was no-one answering and nothing to say you are in a queue, and I did think ‘Is anybody actually there?’” 

“The second time I rang I was on the phone for five minutes, and that’s a long time to hang on to the phone when all the time my husband was getting worse.”

She added that by the time she dialled 999 and an ambulance was sent out, her husband’s condition deteriorated and he later died in Dorset County Hospital.

“I was in the St John’s Ambulance for 12 years. I didn’t want to get an ambulance if we didn’t need to because we know not to make the call unnecessarily. 

“But I did try 111, that’s what’s so upsetting. 

“The waiting without knowing if my call would be answered added to the stress of it.”

“We knew he wasn’t very well but we were told the day before that it wasn’t life-threatening. 

“He just went unconscious and never came round. They said he had a massive bleed on the brain. It was quite a shock and took a long time to get over it.”

Mrs Smart said she now wants answers from those in charge of the service as to why there was no message system in place to reassure users their call would be answered.

She said: “They are encouraging people to call 111 but you can’t get through and there was no message to reassure us. 

“If someone could explain what should have happened it would help so someone else doesn’t end up in a similar position to me.

“I’d always call 999 now, because you know people will pick up. I’m reluctant to call 111 because nothing happened and I wouldn’t want to go through that stress again.”

In a statement, a spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service said: “All callers to NHS111 received a standard welcome message if there were fewer than five calls waiting to be answered, and a message advising them there may be a slight delay answering their call if there were more than five calls waiting.

“On this occasion, calling 999 was absolutely the right thing to do.”