NHS 111 told her to take paracetamol; hours later she was in a coma

She dialled 111 as her symptoms worsened. But the NHS 111 operator allegedly told her to take paracetamol. Hours later, the woman was rushed to hospital, where she was put on life support.Nicky Hillier, 50, an HR professional from Swindon, Wiltshire, first felt unwell in early March 2026. She thought it was nothing but a bad cold, so she cancelled her overnight plans. The next day, she called in sick at work. But five days later, she could barely get out of bed. Soaking night sweats forced her to change her pyjamas every two hours. Her head was pounding. She was vomiting. She thought it was Covid. Unable to secure a GP appointment, she turned to NHS 111 on 18 March.Nicky was allegedly told by the 111 operator to take paracetamol to relieve her symptoms. Just a matter of hours later, she was found unconscious and ‘barely breathing’ by her neighbour and ex-husband.Nicky’s sister, Amanda Hall, described in devastating detail what happened when Nicky reached out for help. “She had rung 111 and said, ‘I can’t get a doctor’s appointment, I’m feeling really poorly, I’ve had a temperature for five days and I’m sweating so much that I’m having to change my pyjamas every couple of hours’. [She also said] ‘I can’t get out of bed, I’ve got a bad headache and I’ve been sick and I’ve got a cough’. They basically told her to go and get some paracetamol, and she said, ‘I can’t even get out of bed’, and that is the last anybody had heard from her overnight. Her neighbour was driving past at around 7 am and noticed that my sister’s curtains were drawn, and that isn’t like her; she’s up early with the dog,” Hall told the Daily Mirror.“In the meantime, my sister’s boss thought, ‘I haven’t heard from Nicky; she usually checks in even when she’s not well’, so went to HR and asked for her next-of-kin contact, which was her ex-husband. The ex got over the gate at the back of the house, got into the house and found her collapsed in a very, very poor state,” she recalled.Nicky was rushed to hospital, and doctors confirmed that she had bacterial meningitis. “We were told to prepare ourselves, that she was gravely, gravely ill and if she made the night, it would be a miracle,” Amanda Hall said. The woman was perfectly well until a week before she cancelled her Friday night plans because she felt unwell, according to her sister. Doctors believe she had a severe case of bacterial meningitis. They confirmed that the bacteria in Nicky’s system was Streptococcus pneumoniae, which had travelled from her spinal cord to her brain, triggering meningitis.She was brought out of a two-day coma on 21 March; however, she is now deaf and also has Bell’s palsy, a neurological disorder causing sudden, temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face. “She said to her nurse within a day or two that she couldn’t hear and something was wrong with her ears. She could speak a few words, not a coherent sentence, but enough to know that she was there. Her mobility isn’t particularly good at the moment; she’s having to use a frame. She can’t walk unaided,” Amanda Hall said.Amanda Hall also criticised the response from NHS 111. “It’s just been awful for everybody; it’s just been absolutely shocking. If you have been as ill as my sister was for that many days and you’ve reached out to 111 and they tell you to go and get some paracetamol, I would absolutely throw that advice in the bin. Like with my sister, it changed so quickly from her being able to communicate. She should have been seen,” she said.A spokesperson for Practice Plus Group stated, “We are sorry to hear of this patient’s illness and encourage her family to raise their concerns with us directly, so that we can review the NHS 111 call in line with our strict quality governance procedures.”Meanwhile, Nicky’s friends and family have set up a GoFundMe to support her during her recovery.