A 95-year-old woman was left waiting more than 14 hours for a doctor after a call to the NHS 111 hotline.

Debra Farrell rang the health service line for help for her grandma, Olga Shaw, when she fell ill last Saturday.

Mrs Farrell called the number at 3pm but did not receive a call back from a doctor until five o’clock in the morning.

Mrs Farrell, who is her grandma’s full time carer, described the service as “a disgrace”.

She said: “We had both gone four nights and days without sleeping.

“She had been seen by a nurse the day before but by Saturday she had gone delirious and I needed help.

“I was cracking up.”

Mrs Farrell said her grandma had been having terrifying hallucinations, had badly cut her leg after falling out of bed and also became trapped down the side of her bed while she was on the call to the NHS.

She said: “I was at my wits end.

“If I’d have heard that phone call with all the shrieking and the commotion in the background I would have had someone out in 10 minutes.

“If a 95-year-old lady isn’t a priority who is?”

Mrs Shaw later calmed down without medical intervention but received no follow-up until a 5am call from Bradley based out-of-hours service, Local Care Direct.

A spokesperson for the NHS 111 service run by Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust in partnership with Local Care Direct, said: “We would like to apologise for the distress caused to Mrs Shaw and her family by the delayed response from a GP following their call to NHS 111 .

“We are very keen to speak to them about their concerns and ask that they contact us via our Patient Relations team so we can discuss this with them directly, telephone: 0345 122 0535.”

Mrs Farrell, who moved to Mirfield from the Durham area to bring her grandma closer to family, also attacked the lack of support for carers in Kirklees.

She said support was so inferior she and her husband had plans to move back.

“I wish we hadn’t moved here, it’s horrendous,” she said.

“I’ve asked occupational health for a piece of equipment to help lift her on to her commode three times since July last year and I’m still waiting.

“Up there I could call and there was somebody there to help.

“Kirklees is the absolute pits.

“Here you get the door slammed in your face.

“All I want is a simple piece of equipment that would save my back.

“I’ve developed ME and arthritis and I have to take all her weight to get her out of bed.

“I’m so angry – until recently I hadn’t had a day off in three-and-a-half-years.

“There’s no support for carers, it’s appalling, and they wonder why people won’t do it.”

Chris Dowse, chief officer of NHS North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “We are sorry to hear of the distress caused in this particular case; the services available were not as responsive or joined up as they should be.

“Our CCG is committed to co-ordinated, integrated care for all its patients in North Kirklees and we are actively working to achieve this through new pathways and re-commissioning of services.

“Commissioning better integrated health and social care services in the patient’s home, and in the community, is a priority for our CCG.

“We strongly advise the patient to contact our complaints team on 0800 0525 270 so we can investigate this matter thoroughly.”

A spokesperson for Kirklees Council, said: “ “We are working with health colleagues to look into Mrs Shaw’s equipment needs as a matter of urgency.

“We have contacted her granddaughter Debra today to discuss her grandmother’s concerns and to look at how best we can move forward with an urgent referral.

“We know how very hard it can be for carers and know how important it is to have the right support.

“We also offer support to carers in various ways and work closely with ‘Carers Count’, a local organisation who provide information and advice to help them in their caring role.

“Carers can contact Carers Count on 0300 012 0231.

“They can also contact Kirklees Council, Gateway to Care on 01484 414933, where our staff will be happy to help wherever possible”.