What, in your opinion, deserves an ambulance call out?

[Drizzledrozzle]

Inspired by another thread, what level of pain / injury / personal circumstances deserves an ambulance call out?

In my own recent experience I'm aware of my gran who calls an ambulance most days because she's confused and gets some shortness of breath.
IMO she should not be calling an ambulance, but she's alone and frightened and clearly calls them as a safety mechanism. She also calls police, fire and the gas board most days, as well as my dad x30 a day and myself once or twice. She's shortly being moved into residential care which will be a great relief to her local emergency services. However if she didn't have family / resources to pay for the care what is the answer?

My partner had a virus and while walking across the kitchen he suddenly collapsed. He didn't lose consciousness but was unable to get up, and I had two small children I was looking after so couldn't give him much care or attention or time, so I called 999. I think the shock of him collapsing made me unable to think straight.
They triaged him by phone, told him to get himself to a sofa as soon as he could, and they'd drop by when they had a moment but they wouldn't consider him a priority.
He ended up being taken in that night when they arrived with suspected meningitis. Thankfully he didn't have it and recovered soon after

When pregnant with DC1 I had a single drop of blood appear and again I freaked out and called 999. They kindly told me I didn't need an ambulance and to keep an eye, stay comfortable and get to an EPU in the morning. All was luckily fine.
I very clearly shouldn't have called 999, but no ambulance came and I only wasted 5 mins of phone time.

I don't want a critique of all my experiences, I'm sure it would be searing! But given some posters seem to think you need to be actually in cardiac arrest before you can even consider calling 999, where is your line?

[PositivelyPERF]

I took my husband to the doctor, because he appeared to be very very ill, with a chest AND urine infection. Neither of us felt that an ambulance was needed. I ended up being called into the doctors room and told to take him straight to hospital as he was very ill and the doctor said I would get him there quicker than an ambulance. He nearly died from septicaemia.

I called the ambulance when I found my youngest unconscious in the hall. I had heard a noise a few minutes earlier, but went to check when she didn’t answer me. The ambulance people were very nice, but by the time they arrived, she had recovered, so they said I could decide if she went to hospital. I decided on the hospital, but they found nothing untoward and said that although it sounded like a fit, unless she had it again, not to worry too much, but definitely phone an ambulance straight away, if it happened again. She has SNs and I couldn’t fault the care she received. She still talks about the fact that the nurse gave her bickies and a cup of tea, but I didn’t get bickies. She feels very smug about that. 😁

[TeenTimesTwo]

Well, your gran was clearly not needing to, but isn't doing it maliciously. The others I think were not unreasonable calls. They were able to reassure you. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but you at the time didn't know how severe the situation was.

[MyCatIsBonkers]

I think that if you're frightened and in pain, with no obvious alternatives, then you should call. If they don't think one is needed they won't send one.

I think we need to be very wary of discouraging people from calling because the consequences of that could be very serious. Eg my dad tried to drive himself to hospital rather than calling an ambulance and wasting their time when he was having a heart attack.

I've called twice. Once when I got bathroom cleaner in my eye and thought my eye ball was melting. In the end it wasn't needed as it wasn't corrosive, but it could easily have gone the other way. The second time was when I was in labour because it went from 0 to 100 in minutes and all other plans disintegrated. I ended up giving birth in the street, clinging on to the back of the ambulance as they tried to drag me into the back of it.

[ShirleyPhallus]

I think in the example of your gran, while that’s very sad and must be very difficult, the family has to take some responsibility and do what they can to help and support her. Glad to hear she’s being moved in to a residential home but perhaps some other help an support could be put in place before then, especially given she’s also calling the police and fire service too.

You say she’s alone and frightened - why is she? Can’t the family do more to help her?

The NHS is so stretched that a call like that could be taking away from a real emergency.

[Twotailed]

I nearly called one the last time I had a stomach ulcer. It was 3am, DH was away and I truly thought I might die from the pain. In the end I called my wonderful MIL instead and she drove me to hospital while I cried and vomited into a mixing bowl.

NHS24 suggested calling me an ambulance when I had appendicitis but as we lived close to the hospital my DH just drove me. That was close though, I had to have emergency surgery because my appendix was about to burst.

I think it’s hard for a non-medical person to judge. Extreme pain, very high fever, breathing difficulties, unconsciousness, severe injury etc would all justify an ambulance in my view, especially if you can’t get to hospital yourself. But pain and injury are frightening, so I don’t blame people who call an ambulance when not strictly necessary. Hopefully if it really wasn’t required a dispatcher would realise.

[PositivelyPERF]

Oops. To answer your question. If the person is mobile and doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, then ‘out of hours doctor’, or whatever you call it, before ambulance, though you don’t HAVE to accept their advice. If you still feel the person is very ill, then ambulance or take them to hospital yourself. When my husband had cancer I would usually take him myself. The one occasion I phoned an ambulance, they refused to take him to the hospital that were treating him and the one they took him to nearly killed him. Shower of arrogant bastards.

With my youngest, I would phone for an ambulance, in a heartbeat if she took very ill. I forgot to add, that I had phoned the out of hours as they said to phone an ambulance, because of her special needs. There was, understandably, concern that she couldn’t describe her feelings/symptoms well enough to judge how ill she is.

[Karigan198]

On the whole it’s actually quicker to drive the sick oerson straight there instead of waiting for an ambulance who then have to drive back again so my rule of thumb is ‘is the person so ill they need treatment on route or unable to move at all’. If the answer is yes then call. If no then don’t.

I’ve called once in my life when my partner had a serious industrial accident. He thought he was ok until about an hour after he came home he callopsed vomiting.

[DiveBombingSeagull]

I think a lot of posters get pissy with people who call an ambulance when they could call on a friend / family member / taxi to get them to hospital.

But as has been shown, in a panic the automatic response is to ring 999.

My Godson is a paramedic and despairs of many of the callouts that they get - they are given limited information sometimes so the triage that prioritises where they go can be hit and miss - for example he was called to a "serious knife wound" which was given high priority, yet when they got there it was someone who was chopping veg and slipped and put the knife in their hand, yes they couldn't drive but they could have got a lift or taxi to A&E.

[minisoksmakehardwork]

Fil would have died had we buy insisted mil called an ambulance. Turned out he was having a massive heart attack and did actually arrest on the way to hospital. Bil has driven over to drive him to our local but ambulance obviously was able to go straight to a specialist hospital.

So; anything which appears life threatening - breathing issues, chest pains, massive loss of blood, pretty much anything on the recommended list
• loss of consciousness
• an acute confused state
• fits that aren't stopping
• chest pain
• breathing difficulties
• severe bleeding that can't be stopped
• severe allergic reactions
• severe burns or scalds
Call 999 immediately if you or someone else is having a heart attack or stroke. Every second counts with these conditions.
Also call 999 if you think someone has had a major trauma, such as after a serious road traffic accident, a stabbing, a shooting, a fall from height, or a serious head injury.

Some conditions may appear minor but can be life threatening. 999 services triage and rate each call by priority. So my aunt, with ms, who would fall and was told to call an ambulance to pick her up (lived with elderly grandmother who was unable to plus assess for any injuries), would be a much lower priority if she had just fallen, than someone who had fallen from height, was bleeding and barely conscious. The rating wold affect how quick you can expect a response. In general situations, i feel if after waiting a while for an ambulance you decide you can't wait longer, you didn't need that immediate medical attention.

[someonekillbabyshark]

My daughter fell of her changing unit face down she was conscious but very shocked then she was sick I rang an ambulance, the lady's were so lovely I was crying my eyes out and they took her straight of me and was talking to her, she was fine just in shock and carpet burn nose but I was a mess. She's had other problems since then were if she hits her head she throws up or like goes into a long daze but iv never called again just took her in the car. I only ring them if I think it's life threatening and I won't be able to help her my self in the car. Another instance was when my dad shouted outside we went to see if he was ok and he had cut his arm open, blood going everywhere. First response came and cancelled the ambulance so wasn't as bad as we thought ( I thought he was going to bleed out )

[hatgirl]

Social services would have got involved with your gran/paid for care if there were no family/funds available to help.

She would have been logged as a frequent/nuisance caller by the emergency services who in time would have alerted social services if family didn't.

I would never consider calling 999 in the other circumstances you describe. It wouldn't even cross my mind as an option. Next time you feel you need medical advice that doesn't require an ambulance perhaps try ringing 111 instead?

My line is that something has happened where it would not be safe to take someone to hospital my self (e.g possible spinal injuries), or where the situation is time critical e.g heart attack or serious bleeding.

Many people can be safely transported to hospital by car/taxi much quicker than an ambulance these days.

[Blobby10]

I called NHS Direct when my son (aged 20) was having a panic attack - I didn't know thats what it was but he was screaming in pain and his fingers and toes had gone white and were curling inwards and cramping. He was in agony. The lovely lady on the other end of the phone called the ambulance as she could hear him screaming.

Paramedics spent an hour calming my son down, even ensuring he drank a cup of tea and had some toast. I was so apologetic but they said they would rather spend an hour and deal with someone in genuine need, rather than the abusive drunks which they would get for the rest of their shift.

[Fatted]

Until very recently, I worked as a 999 operator and I would say only about 25% of people I spoke to on 999 actually ever had a genuine emergency.

[TheActualLastJedi]

Cardiac emergencies
Pain that is debilitating and the patient is incoherent
Major trauma injuries that need the patient to be immobilised (suspected spinal, pelvis fractures ect)
Unconscious and unresponsive patients
Any time CPR is needed.
Chocking if 5 back blows or initial cycle of treatment has not worked.
Seizures that occur for the first time or of longer than a normal one.
Significant Brain/head I juries with loss of blood or crushing injuries


Temperatures, fainting, simple broken wrist and arms, quick onset viral infections, ankle sprains, muscular injuries, shoulder/finger dislocations, it's honestly quicker to get yourself to A and E or a minor I jury unit. Your probably even better driving a suspected stroke / heart attack to a and e with ambulance times these days.

I tend to use can't breath, can't move, can't respond, major blood loss or entrapment as a ambulance job. If you can talk to me, tell me what's wrong, get up shuffle/hop in to the car I'll take you. My son who had febrile seizures it was always quicker to bundle him in to the car and turn up.

[ballseditupforever]

Your gran has no choice but to call an ambulance I suspect because the doctor no longer does regular house visits. This is the real failing of he system. I hate this presumption that old people are unable to stay at home and need to go into residential care. Why don't you and your family do a bit more for her and try and make her less anxious.

If you were suffering from shortness of breath you would probably panic and call an ambulance. Have a heart.

[TooTrueToBeGood]

The best time to call for emergency assistance is as soon as you think you might need emergency assistance. Let the call handlers and other professionals deal with the rest. None of us want to see expensive, under-stress services used frivolously but neither should we want to see someone in genuine need of emergency care delayed in receiving it. If you think an ambulance is required then call for one, the call handler will ultimitely decide if one is merited and what priority to give it.

[ADastardlyThing]

For me it would be obvious life threatening injuries, conditions etc, otherwise taxi or lift to a and e if it was a genuine emergency. Otherwise 111 or walk in centre.

Your gran is a bit of a red herring here as it's clear there are other factors at play (dementia?). Im sorry some posters are asking why you/family can't support more, as if its that simple. I'm sure you are all doing what you can but sometimes it's just not enough and there's no shame in realising that

[Buswankeress]

My mum is a retired a&e nurse, and dad an ex ambulance man (before paramedics were common, he was, as he calls it a 'scoop and run' ambulance man)
I am also a horse rider, we're known for being stupid tough and getting up and back on when really, you shouldn't!
I've been in an emergency ambulance 3 times, two were falls from horses, a very obvious broken leg and a rotational fall where I was unconscious for several minutes. The last time was when my gall bladder tried to kill me and I ignored the building symptoms until I was suffering pancreatitis among other delights. I called 111 first and they took my symptoms and called an ambulance.
I think having been brought up with stories of time wasters, and with parents who were medically trained, and managed conditions themselves and drove me to a&e themselves if they felt it was warranted, I'm less likely to call an ambulance when I should than not call one if I shouldn't.
That's just as bad as calling one if not needed, because by the time you get there you need far more attention and treatment than if I'd gone earlier.
I think those who genuinely don't know if it's life threatening absolutely should, because it could be and you won't get another chance!
What pisses me off are the people who say it's their 'right' even if they don't need one, and know that ringing 111 and saying the things they know will trigger an ambulance such as short of breath, chest pain, one sided weakness - when it's a complete exaggeration of symptoms, and they could have attended a&e by car or taxi, or they could have waited to see the GP. I've seen stuff like this on SM in response to posts about waiting for 111 to call back or something "Tell them you can't breathe! They'll send an ambulance!" When they've got backache on a Sunday afternoon.
That's wasting resources.

[IABURQO]

A stranger called an ambulance for DH because he cut his leg open when the crank shaft on his bike snapped and went into his leg. Not really necessary; he bled a lot and did need a bunch of stitches and I guess the blood all over the road worried them, but then the ambulance took him anyway because he did need medical treatment. (They dropped the useless bike home as we were on the way and collected pregnant me, said there were no other emergencies but they'd need to queue in A&E anyway, so I guess ambulances themselves aren't always the blocker. We felt bad that they still had to wait in triage to hand him over, seems like at least in triage a non serious case can be left to fend for themselves in A&E.)
I called an ambulance at age 20 when a friend had a panic attack, it looked like a seizure. It was the right thing to do.
Anything that looks like a heart attack, stroke, breathing problem or severe bleeding I'd call 999. I've called 111 for advice for the baby, just in case, though when told to go in I once walked him and once had family drive him, just because it's quicker anyway. Otherwise we could just walk / get a taxi / see GP, depending on how serious it is.

[QuestionableMouse]

Last time I called an ambulance was for my diabetic mum who was having a hypo in the middle of the night. She was totally incoherent and altered and her bloods were so low her home kit couldn't get a number. Paramedics were lovely and she ended up needing glucagon injection because she wasn't responding to anything else.

Time before that was my dad had collapsed and was totally unresponsive on the floor. He was on his front in a very awkward position and I couldn't move him and was terrified that he was dying. They came out and took him into a&e for checks.

So my list would be

Unexplained loss of consciousness
Severe hypos where other treatments have failed
Severe fractures of any limb
Falls from height
Severe unexplained pain with sudden onset
Suspected heart attack or stroke
Severe bleeding that can't be controlled

I'm sure there's more. I think teaching both basic first aid and what a genuine emergency looks like in schools would go a long way. I have a friend who lives in the States and her daughters have been taught fairly advanced first aid, survival stuff, and more.

[MamTDM]

I've called 999 three times - once when my then-partner quickly became very ill with an excruciating headache (turned out to be viral meningitis); once when my elderly dad wasn't answering his phone and his neighbour couldn't get into his house (he'd collapsed unconscious, again with meningitis); and once when a friend's (then)wife in another city, who had - let's call them 'issues' - phoned me up and told me very calmly that she had left her baby in her GP's waiting-room and was going home to kill herself. I had no way of getting to her and I couldn't get hold of her husband so I dialled 999 for advice and they sent an ambulance to her house. It was all an attention-seeking stunt and the ambulance got to her house to find her there perfectly calm, with her baby, denying the whole thing. I got a phone call to update me and they said I'd done absolutely the right thing.

[lljkk]

Immediate threat to life I can't deal with, I guess, for me personally, would be the most likely trigger. I only ever called for one once, when in labour, coz I was told to do that (today I would try a taxi but would have to lie to the driver about being in labour).

I know the main ambulance users are elderly &/or lonely with chronic health conditions. These are often very vulnerable people who can't assess their own risks or get alternative transport to treatment. Worse, there's a myth that you get seen faster in A&E if you arrive by ambulance, so lots of people think it's a non-brainer decision.

An ambulance was called for DH when he last dislocated shoulder. I was about to drive him to hospital (crying all the 45 minutes journey) when ambulance finally turned up. He had 5 types of painkiller before A&E, including ambulance stopping to give morphine.

[CatboySpeed]

Anything life threatening.

Cardiac arrest, stroke, major injury or bleeding, seizures, breathing difficulties, someone unresponsive or unconscious. Being a nurse though I feel like I would know.

If any of mine have had to go to a&e we’ve taken them in the car.

[TheFairyCaravan]

The only times I’ve ever called an ambulance is when DH was haemorrhaging after a day surgery operation and he ended up staying in hospital for a week and when DS2 was having an asthma attack. The police called an ambulance for me when I was 19 and had had a car accident.

A few years ago DS1 came back from a run and something the farmer had sprayed caused his face and eyes to swell and he was covered in hives. It didn’t occur to me to call an ambulance, I shoved him in the car and took him to out of hours. That was the quickest way of getting him treatment.

The school called an ambulance for DS2 when he dislocated and fractured his shoulder playing rugby but to be fair to them they thought it was a neck injury.

I wouldn’t call an ambulance unless I felt it was life or death tbh.

[OhLookHeKickedTheBall]

I would add falls resulting in pain so bad you can't get up to some of the lists here.

I slipped and fell in a rather innocuous fashion a few years back and was fine as long as I was left sitting where I fell, I couldn't get myself up without massive pain. Someone called 999 for me, I'd shattered my elbow. My DM has broken her thigh bones in similar ways so was stuck on the spot until paramedics arrived. In all cases we were told that it was the right call as due to the injuries we could have worsened the situation had someone managed to move us.