Page 4 | Paramedics made my father go to hospital

wecangoupupup · 2026-05-02T16:57:43+00:00

My father has atrial fibrillation. He has had this for years. He has been told multiple times what to do in the case of an episode of AF. Today, he had one while I was visiting. It took a long time to pass, so in line with his consultant’s plan my mother called 999, after the usual medications had been given at home. In the time it took for the paramedics to arrive, the attack passed and when they did arrive, it had been nearly an hour since it had ended. They still made him go to hospital as they “couldn’t rule out a heart attack”, despite my father insisting that he knows his body, knows what an AF episode feels like and knows when it has passed. All he wanted was to go to bed and sleep off the effects of the beta blockers he had taken. They still essentially made him go to hospital, saying that they would make him sign forms if he didn’t which showed he had refused medical advice. I was present and the paramedics essentially made it sound as though he would be at the back of the queue if it returned and he needed an ambulance again. Fast forward 10 hours and he’s still in hospital, no doctors available to read his ECG or his blood test results, and he’s been sleeping in a hard plastic chair. AIBU to think this is ridiculous? Paramedics really shouldn’t be encouraging patients to attend hospital when it’s not necessary.

Catlady1991 · 03/05/2026 23:23

Would you rather that they didn’t recommend that he went and it was a heart attack?

I work for the ambulance service as a clinician and they absolutely did their job correctly. Nobody “forced” him to go, they can’t kidnap him he would have had to agreed to it. If you refuse to go then standard procedure is to get the patient to sign to say they are going against medical advice.

I don’t see your issue here!?

SALaw · 03/05/2026 22:25

wecangoupupup · 02/05/2026 18:08

Their insinuation was that a second ambulance wouldn’t be sent

Show quote history

Isn’t that fair enough though, if you think about it in terms of prioritisation and taking your own emotion out of it? He calls an ambulance, they say go to hospital, he refuses and then calls an ambulance half an hour or whatever later?! They are an extremely stretched resource so can’t keep going to the same houses for the same incident if the patient refuses their advice to attend hospital. The dire state of the hospital waiting time is not their fault, they are just recommending what they think should happen from a medical and patient safety perspective.

BudgetBuster · 03/05/2026 22:18

hcee19 · 03/05/2026 22:12

If paramedics, feel a need to take a patient to hospital, that's what they have to do. Sometimes they can't do r8ght for doing wrong. It is not their fault your father is still waiting to see a doctor. I think you are extremely ungrateful. Your father was given the opportunity not to go to hospital, but wouldn't to sign to say he wouldn't go. Paramedics have to be looked after too, otherwise people would be whining, and suing. These paramedics put up with more than you could ever know, you should be grateful they care so much. Bloody hell, l find it so annoying you are complaining...

This!

The long wait in A&E and the paramedics are two different issues.

hcee19 · 03/05/2026 22:12

If paramedics, feel a need to take a patient to hospital, that's what they have to do. Sometimes they can't do r8ght for doing wrong. It is not their fault your father is still waiting to see a doctor. I think you are extremely ungrateful. Your father was given the opportunity not to go to hospital, but wouldn't to sign to say he wouldn't go. Paramedics have to be looked after too, otherwise people would be whining, and suing. These paramedics put up with more than you could ever know, you should be grateful they care so much. Bloody hell, l find it so annoying you are complaining...

JulietteHasAGun · 03/05/2026 22:05

Redmatty10 · 03/05/2026 21:45

The paramedic will not face suspension as they have not done anything wrong but followed procedures. All OPs complaint will do is waste NHS time and resources and make the affected individuals angry/ frustrated and keen to leave their chosen profession!
I have worked as a clinician in the NHS for 40 years and it never ceases to amaze me how ridiculous and entitled some people can be. Luckily I am now retired

Show quote history

I got out after nearly 20 years and it’s people like the OP which may be exceedingly glad I don’t work for the nhs anymore.

Yokodoko · 03/05/2026 22:04

TeaPot496 We can’t win either way can we 🙄 if something had of happened to the patient, like an undiagnosed issue/co-morbidity, you can see the headlines in the papers right now, or are you the editor of one 🤬🤬🤬

HobGobblynne · 03/05/2026 21:51

wecangoupupup · 02/05/2026 18:19

Yes. They still maintained that if anything happened an ambulance wouldn’t be sent.

Show quote history

Except by your own admissions earlier that isn’t what was said.

They (supposedly) said if he called again later he’d be at the back of the queue. Not that one wouldn’t be sent.

Redmatty10 · 03/05/2026 21:45

Chilledoutmuma · 02/05/2026 20:21

I can understand your frustration. However, before you put in a complaint, I would recommend watching Ambulance on bbc. I’ve been binge watching old series and they are under a lot of pressure. If you do complain, the individual paramedic may then go through suspension procedures and anxiety when really this comes down to a lack of resources and funding. They are all trying their best, and after watching the documentary, in a lot of cases as Ambulance is there to take the patient to hospital.

Hope your dad gets the help needed.

The paramedic will not face suspension as they have not done anything wrong but followed procedures. All OPs complaint will do is waste NHS time and resources and make the affected individuals angry/ frustrated and keen to leave their chosen profession!
I have worked as a clinician in the NHS for 40 years and it never ceases to amaze me how ridiculous and entitled some people can be. Luckily I am now retired

Clafoutie · 03/05/2026 21:43

NiftyPrawn · 03/05/2026 20:08

I’m a paramedic. Obviously I wasn’t on your father’s call, however, I can already strongly state you’re BU. A few observations:

An ECG machine is a marvellous thing. It tells us if you’re in a funny heart rhythm or if there’s a complete blockage in one of the arteries supplying blood to your heart. It does not necessarily tell us if you’re having a partial occlusion of one of these vessels. The only way to rule that out (an impending BIG heart attack) is to have bloods done in hospital, specifically ones that look for troponins; which are released from the damaged heart muscle.
Fast AF (which is likely what caused the “AF attack”), is a peri-arrest rhythm. Aka one of the rhythms your heart goes into just before it goes “nah love, I’ve had enough, I’m giving up”. Cardiac arrest beckons. Your father may well/is highly likely to have been in this rhythm and luckily it self resolved. Normal AF does not have “attacks”.
If the crew had not advised further investigations into any damage from this episode and he’d died in the night, they’d risk being struck off. Let alone the devastation you would feel at losing a family member.

Are we sure this just isn’t due to the “inconvenience” it’s now caused you? You’re delayed being seen in ED because there are people in there who are sicker. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t need seeing though.

I’m appalled that you feel that the paramedics doing their job is reason for complaint. As a manager of ambulance crews, I can assure you that every complaint takes hours upon hours of meetings, paperwork and time spent on them. If we weren’t having to do these things, we’d be booked on alongside crews going to 999 calls. Not to mention the stress on the crew when they have probably already seen horrific things in this block of shifts. I really hope you have a long hard think about what the outcome could have been if they’d left him at home. As perhaps they’d be writing coroner’s statements then.

Edited

Well said. Thank you for this sane and informative post, and for everything you do.

BudgetBuster · 03/05/2026 21:36

Witchonenowbob · 03/05/2026 20:13

But what else was in the plan? That’s also stated, but @Tiddlywinky has a selective reading issue.

Show quote history

But how is anybody ill-informed?

It isn't Toddlywinky's job to rewrite an entire post for your benefit?

SerendipityJane · 03/05/2026 21:32

JustGiveMeReason · 03/05/2026 12:53

What's concerning is that there are now 18% of people who have voted, who thinks the OP is NBU

You can always ignore 5% of anything in polling, So that leaves 13% who didn't read the OP

JulietteHasAGun · 03/05/2026 21:26

Tiddlywinky · 03/05/2026 19:32

No idea. Haven't seen it myself.

Show quote history

oP said consultant plan said to call an ambulance to go to hospital and get checked out didn’t she?

”he’s to call 999 to attend hospital for beta blockers and potentially a cardioversion.”

I get the episode had resolved….so main question is why didn’t they cancel the ambulance?

Haveanopinion · 03/05/2026 21:14

A lot of people seem to be jumping on op saying to just find a staff member to get discharged. The reality from having been to hospital with my elderly mom is that there are no staff available to ask for things. Curtains are put around every patient, you ask a passing nurse and they run by saying that the doctor will be round soon. You overhear a doctor in the next cubicle bullying an elderly man in his own into signing a dnr even though he repeatedly says he would want to be resuscitated if necessary! The nhs i under a lot of pressure and although I am sure all the staff are doing their best to follow protocol , the most vulnerable patients and relatives are clearly not feeling safe and reassured.

Haveanopinion · 03/05/2026 21:14

A lot of people seem to be jumping on op saying to just find a staff member to get discharged. The reality from having been to hospital with my elderly mom is that there are no staff available to ask for things. Curtains are put around every patient, you ask a passing nurse and they run by saying that the doctor will be round soon. You overhear a doctor in the next cubicle bullying an elderly man on his own into signing a dnr even though he repeatedly says he would want to be resuscitated if necessary! The nhs is under a lot of pressure and although I am sure all the staff are doing their best to follow protocol , the most vulnerable patients and relatives are clearly not feeling safe and reassured.

Picklelily99 · 03/05/2026 21:10

"I should like to complain that the paramedics tried to ensure my father was in the best possible place, and had the best possible care for his condition".
False alarm ... THIS TIME.

GreenCa · 03/05/2026 21:10

Pistachiocake · 03/05/2026 20:37

If he'd been treated quickly, with care, as soon as he arrived at hospital, and then sent home asap, would you still be unhappy?

Surely the real problem here is that old people are left sitting in seats (sometimes in corridors) for hours. Sorry, days sometimes (yes, I do know this for a fact).

Or a home visit from a GP would surely have been useful? To do the checks and confirm AE wasn't needed?

A GP would not have been able to rule out a problem.

GreenCa · 03/05/2026 21:07

wecangoupupup · 02/05/2026 19:14

He knows his own body and he was right. So a complaint has been submitted.

Show quote history

Unbelievable. People like this make me despair.

Catiette · 03/05/2026 20:52

Catiette · 03/05/2026 19:02

I was taken to hospital by ambulance on the advice of paramedics within the last 6 months. It was almost certainly a false alarm - I felt so, and a friend a rang who's a GP felt so, but they wanted to be on the safe side. It all kicked off at about 12am, and I got home the next day at about 2pm, after having spent most of the intervening time on a trolley in an electric lit hallway, with only 3 5-minute consultations to clear me.

My response to this?

Grateful to live in a country that was able and willing to check me out, and efficient enough to prioritise other patients on realising I wasn't an urgent case.

(Also knackered! 😂)

PS I rushed the above so did also want to add, OP (honestly, I'm a bit horrified at myself that I didn't put this in the first place - I was multi-tasking, but it really has made me realise, social media's an evil influence on me, so apologies)...

I am also very sorry for your dad's experience, and fully appreciate your anger at him being kept waiting at his age and in that way to the degree he was. The point I was (retrospectively, far too directly) making was: I still really wouldn't blame the paramedics for this unless they were explicitly and directly unpleasant and threatening. They're working under huge pressure in a job most of us couldn't contemplate doing, attempting to juggle impossibly limited resources. Maybe, instead, you could write a letter to the hospital, or (as they were probably doing their best in awful circumstances, too), better still, to your MP (for what good it ever does!)

Regardless, I hope you're all feeling a bit better now and that any future medical treatment for any of you goes more smoothly. X

GreenCa · 03/05/2026 20:50

wecangoupupup · 02/05/2026 18:25

He does not need to be there. Chronic AF can be a risk factor, but only if it is chronic. Not a transient episode, like this one. I think half the issue is the paramedics have never heard of it so don’t know how to treat it.

Show quote history

Unless you are medically qualified, i think c
paramedics will know more about AF than you.

Pistachiocake · 03/05/2026 20:37

If he'd been treated quickly, with care, as soon as he arrived at hospital, and then sent home asap, would you still be unhappy?

Surely the real problem here is that old people are left sitting in seats (sometimes in corridors) for hours. Sorry, days sometimes (yes, I do know this for a fact).

Or a home visit from a GP would surely have been useful? To do the checks and confirm AE wasn't needed?

WilfredsPies · 03/05/2026 20:27

wecangoupupup · 02/05/2026 18:18

I don’t think their job is to tell someone that if they have a heart attack an ambulance won’t be sent to them because they didn’t attend hospital earlier that day.

Show quote history

Were they really telling him that? Or were they trying to gently point out that if there’s an event in your town that always ‘turns mucky’ they might not have any ambulances to send to him if he’s having a heart attack and needs one urgently?

I understand that it’s going to be frustrating for him and for your family. But they’re doing the best they can with the limited resources they have available to them. If you aren’t happy with how they’ve handled it, you need to moan at your MP and ask what they’re doing to lobby for the NHS to be prioritised.

Balloonhearts · 03/05/2026 20:21

You've called for an ambulance and refused to go to hospital for monitoring or treatment, essentially wasting their time. Obviously they aren't going to attend a second time!

They are an underfunded resource at the best of times, they aren't going to piss about with someone who refuses to follow advice or let them do their job. They'll prioritise those who they can actually help.

If he wasn't going to hospital because he knew it was just a AF attack, why call in the first place? Why not cancel when the attack subsided, an hour before? What exactly did you expect them to do without taking him in?

user1464187087 · 03/05/2026 20:15

fivepastmidnight · 03/05/2026 19:18

You chose to phone an ambulance. You chose not to cancel the ambulance, You chose not to sign the form, he chose not to leave the hospital. But now you are putting a complaint in. Absolutely pathetic. They gave you the opportunity to sign a form and made it quite clear that it was on your head if he didn't. The reason they do these things is because people like you would be the first complain if he dropped dead and if they then said he said he felt all right he wanted to stay home, you would rightly reply we're not a medical professionals how are we supposed to know? it's not the paramedics, the doctors or the nurses faults that there's massive delays. People like you make my blood boil.

My thoughts exactly!
This thread may give me a heart attack at this rate.
Ungrateful bastards.

Witchonenowbob · 03/05/2026 20:13

BudgetBuster · 03/05/2026 19:41

How ill informed?

The OP literally said calling an ambulance was in the plan... Tiddlywink was merely repeating.

Show quote history

But what else was in the plan? That’s also stated, but @Tiddlywinky has a selective reading issue.

NiftyPrawn · 03/05/2026 20:13

Springsummertime · 03/05/2026 19:09

I’m so confused why call an ambulance if you don’t want medical treatment? Bizarre behaviour!

If your father doesn’t want medical treatment don’t call an ambulance and let someone who does want and need treatment!

Honestly people do this ALL the time. They look at you like you have two heads when we say “you need to go to hospital as we’ve reached the limitations of what we can test and assess you for in the prehospital environment, and we have continued concerns”. When asking the patient what their expectations were if not hospital, the response is usually “best to get checked over”. Yep, you have been, and advised to go to ED. Then they sign a refusal and cuss us out the door.