A family who were advised to take their son to accident and emergency are asking why an NHS helpline is giving out advice "that doesn't match the expectations of hospital staff".

Father, Antony Harvey, said he and his wife drove for more than 40 miles back and forth between a hospital and GP surgery following advice given to him by NHS 111.

Mr Harvey claims that despite an "empty waiting room" staff refused to see his son.

Here is his first-hand account:

"Our son was born with a minor kidney and bladder problem which could become very serious if either becomes infected.

We were very concerned when he was showing all the signs of infection and so called NHS 111 who recommended we take him to A&E to get checked out. 

We live in Bishop's Stortford and our nearest A&E is in Harlow which is around 10 miles and 30 minutes away. 

We drove over to Princess Alexandra Hospital only to wait about 30 minutes for the nurses on reception to decide they wouldn't see him. 

There were only two other families in the waiting room and four staff standing around chatting. 

We were sent back to our GP in Bishop's Stortford where we waited almost two hours to be seen. 

Whilst waiting, our son produced a urine sample which it being a Friday we were recommended to take back to Princess Alexandra hospital, so we had to drive all the way back to Harlow to drop it off, this time in peak rush hour traffic. 

All in all we spent around two and a half hours on the road and about the same waiting. 

We also covered a distance of around 40 miles.

I was pretty shocked by the 'no can do' attitude of the staff at Princess Alexandra hospital; they seemed to be working pretty hard to find a reason not to see my son. 

Given the waiting room was pretty empty and so many of the staff were hanging around chatting, I'd even suggest they could have seen him in the time they took faffing around.  

They and our GP were also surprised NHS 111 sent us to A&E. 

I was shocked and saddened to discover that NHS 111 is giving out advice that doesn't match the responsibilities or expectations of staff in other parts of the NHS. 

Both my wife and I pay National Insurance and we'd be pretty angry if any other service we paid for treated us this way."

In a new series on the NHS, the Guardian will feature experiences of patients, their families and staff of treatment provided across east London and west Essex. As A&Es continue to struggle with demand and politicians argue over the future of healthcare, we will publish first-hand accounts, features and news stories on the latest developments. We want to hear from you if you have something to say about your local hospital, GP surgery, or clinic. Click here for contact details of reporters covering your area. Alternatively, you can submit a story here.