A mother and son were “disgusted” by the attitude of staff at Watford General Hospital.

Rebecca Peterman, a healthcare assistant, dialled 111 when her son Marc, 25, who had been suffering with gastroenteritis for more than a week, appeared to be deteriorating.

After an over-the-phone assessment, the non-emergency NHS helpline called an ambulance for the 25-year-old tennis coach.

But when the paramedics arrived, on July 15, Mrs Peterman said she and her son were made to feel “totally stupid”.

The 57-year-old said: “When the paramedics came, one of them asked me why I had called them and told me I should have taken my son to a GP instead – what a disgusting attitude.

“It made Marc and I feel totally stupid and embarrassed.

“Even after I explained that I didn’t call them, they still made me feel guilty for bringing them out there.”

After they took her son to Watford General Hospital, Mrs Peterman was equally unimpressed with the treatment she received there.

After a two-hour wait in A&E, during which time Marc began feeling more ill, Mrs Peterman alerted a nurse to her son’s worsening condition.

She said: “When I approached the nurse her reply was, ‘no wonder he feels ill, he hasn’t eaten or drunk anything in a week, of course he will feel rubbish’ – as if it was his fault.

"I was so shocked. Throughout our time at the hospital we felt we were disturbing everyone rather than being looked after, and all the staff treated us with a very blasé attitude.

"I’m in the medical profession myself and would never treat a patient like that. I was made to feel guilty for having gone through the process.

“If this is people’s attitude I don’t understand why they come into the profession.”

The mother and son were eventually seen by a “sympathetic” doctor and sent home.

She said: “Thankfully the doctor was great – my son was treated and was able to leave.

"But those paramedics and nurses didn’t know what the outcome would be, it could have panned out very differently.

"You hear horror stories about parents not taking their children to hospital and then dreadful things happen.

"If that had happened to Marc I would never have forgiven myself. I thought I was doing the right thing and was then made to feel bad about it.”

Kelly White, speaking on behalf of West Hertfordshire Hospital Trust, said: “Our aim as a trust is to always provide the very best care to every patient; so we are disappointed to hear when our patients have been dissatisfied with our service.”