A SCOTTISH nurse who contracted Ebola while volunteering in Africa has revealed that she was not put in touch with a medical professional when she called the patient helpline NHS 24 after spotting symptoms of the virulent disease.
Pauline Cafferkey said that she had to arrange her own admission to hospital through a friend after only being able to speak to a call handler who could not provide professional advice.
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
And the 40-year-old, who was hospitalised three times as she fought the deadly virus, faced the same scenario when she later contracted meningitis, delaying her treatment for 24 hours and leaving her in agony.
This was despite showing all the classic "red flag" symptoms of the disease, such as neck pain and sensitivity to light.
Ms Cafferkey, from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, contracted Ebola while volunteering during the outbreak in west Africa in 2014.
Speaking to the BBC, she described how NHS 24 had not picked up on the seriousness of her situation.
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
She said: "I had a fever, that was the first thing. I woke up with chills. I was shaking and checked my temperature and it was very high.
"I phoned NHS 24, [using] the 111 number ... but I was just dealt with by a call handler. For some reason they did not have a nurse manning the phone and it wasn't escalated.
"I just ended up that I was in contact with one of my friends and she arranged my admission to hospital. NHS 24 weren't a great deal of help at that point."
She added: "It's a real shame because I think the important thing is that when things go right in the NHS you should shout it from the rooftops. "But I didn't have a great experience with them."
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
Ms Cafferkey spent almost a month in an isolation unit at London's Royal Free Hospital before being discharged, but became ill again in October last year and was treated for meningitis caused by Ebola.
However, she said that vital time was lost getting her to hospital because NHS 24 again failed to recognise her symptoms.
She said: "When I had the meningitis and I called with many red flag symptoms, like I told them I had a severe headache, neck pain, I was sensitive to light and I was vomiting.
"Again, it wasn't escalated. I didn't get to speak to a nurse or a healthcare professional for some reason."
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
She described her battle with meningitis as worse than her fight with Ebola, saying that she suffered the most painful headache of her life and that at one point she asked doctors to drill a hole in her skull to relieve the pressure.
However, she said that she was unsure if her case was made worse by the initial delay.
The nurse said: "With meningitis everyone knows you need to act very fast and for me it was a good 24 hours where I didn't receive treatment.
"Even on the flight down to London it was that severe I was suffering fits and had a seizure. But you have no way to say that my outcome could have been better had I got treatment 24 hours earlier."
Ms Cafferkey has since returned to work at Blantyre health centre and is Ebola-free, although she still suffers side effects such as numbness and dizziness from her battle with the disease.
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
NHS 24's Director of Nursing and Care, Sheena Wright admitted the helpline had failed to provide her with adequate care
She said: "NHS 24 has recognised that the care Ms Cafferkey received was not of the standard she should have expected from us. We have apologised to Ms Cafferkey for this and would welcome further contact.
"NHS 24 strives to provide high standards of care and takes learning from patient feedback extremely seriously to enable continuous improvement of all our services."
READ MORE: Scots nurse Pauline Cafferkey unable to run again due to Ebola virus
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