Patient Story - February

Meeting: Trust Board – Public Meeting

Date: 11 February 2026

Report Title: Patient Story – Severe Headache – UCCH transfer

Agenda Item: PUB26/02/1.4

Author: Victoria Boyce, Patient and Public Engagement Manager

Lead Director: Simon Chase, Chief Paramedic/AHP and Executive Director of Quality

Purpose:

Assurance:

Link to Strategic Risk:

Equality Impact Assessment: |No negative impact identified|

Previously considered by: This patient story has previously not been viewed, and consent has been received from the patient to share her experience with Trust Board.

Purpose: The purpose of this patient story is to share the experience of a patient who needed the service when they experienced a severe headache, which was later diagnosed at hospital as a brain haemorrhage. It highlights the importance of telephone triage and referral to the Clinical Assessment Service (CAS) / Unscheduled Community Care Hub (UCCH) which enabled the call to be escalated, and a more immediate response sent to the patient.

Recommendation:

To share the experience of a patient who suffered a severe headache (later diagnosed as a brain haemorrhage) who had difficulty conveying the seriousness of her condition to the call handler who interpreted her symptoms as a headache and followed the correct onward coding and referral for clinical review. In addition, to review the clinical oversight and audit of calls that are identified as transfer to CAS/UCCH.

Executive Summary:

The patient story depicts the experience of a patient who could have been at risk due to their call being potentially uncategorised.

Once the call was reviewed and passed on to the CAS and UCCH; upon their callback, the nature of the incident was escalated and a more immediate response sent. The patient is recovering well from her experience and wished to pass on her thanks to the attending crews who in her words, “were amazing.”

The patient story is brought to Trust Board to review the clinical oversight and audit appropriateness of calls being directed to CAS/UCCH to ensure patient safety is established along with any learning that can be undertaken to improve the services we are providing.

Introduction / background:

This is an interview with Fiona. Fiona was at the gym when she started experiencing severe headache symptoms and feeling unwell. She managed to drive herself home, but her symptoms continued to worsen. Recognising this was more than a headache she called 999.

During her first call to the service, Fiona felt she had difficulty getting the call handler to understand it was more than a normal headache. She was advised there would be up to and 8-hour delay for a response. Fiona called for a second time and although the call was upgraded to a 1-hour response, she continued to find it difficult to get the seriousness of her condition acknowledged. Fiona next received a phone call from a clinician from the UCCH who recognised her symptoms as a potential brain haemorrhage. Her called was upgraded and the crew arrived with Fiona shortly afterward.

Fiona was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital and then transferred to Addenbrookes for immediate surgery.

Key Issues / Risks:

Referring the patient’s call through the CAS/ UCCH enabled the need for an upgrade in call categorisation and the need for a swifter response to be recognised. The speed of response played a significant part in the survival of the patient. If the patient had not been referred to the CAS/UCCH, the response they had received as triaged in their initial call to the service may have led to a very different outcome for their survival. A review of the CAS/UCCH referral system indicates that contact is improving, but the risk does remain at time of extremis to review all calls in a timely manner to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.

Options:

N/A

How does this report link with EEAST’s vision, purpose and values?

https://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/about-us/our-corporate-strategy

This links with EEAST patient mission: To provide high-quality urgent and emergency care that is fair, responsive and focused on patient need.

Summary:

Not listening fully to the patient can lead to severity of symptoms being missed. The CAS / UCCH has a vital role to play in ensuring patients like Fiona receive the care they need as quickly as possible. The Trust is committed to working with system partners and increasing CAS/UCCH availability to match the increase in demand.