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Original poster

Today I called an ambulance.... and was put on hold

162 replies

Crunchymum · 30/11/2019 22:39

About 4pm today I called an ambulance as my disabled almost 2yo had a severe allergic reaction (first time its happened)

I dialled 999, asked for ambulance, and got a recorded message telling me I was in a queue.

Hung up, called a cab instead.

Firstly, I was called back (approx 5 minutes later at most) and secondly whilst it was a severe reaction, breathing wasn't compromised. But what if it had been?

Maybe I'm part of the problem? I did make my own way to A&E (weren't admitted but needed steroids and more antihistamine) so should I have not called an ambulance to begin with?

A&E was as you would imagine. We were seen relatively quickly but took ages for meds and then discharge etc.

OP posts:
changeforprivacy · 01/12/2019 13:37

No, I was talking as a parent not a medic.

You don't call an ambulance because something might happen, you deal with what IS happening.

feelinghelplesstoday · 01/12/2019 13:39

Son having an arterial bleed after an accident. Told 2 hour wait for ambulance. Paramedic in car turned up applied tourniquet and got son into my car and told me to follow him-blues and twos on.
Son would have died otherwise.
Breaks my heart what has happened to our emergency services and beloved NHS

SoupDragon · 01/12/2019 13:39

Well, neither is the op and she came to a different conclusion based on her judgement of "the symptoms in front of her".If she had got through to an Ambulance dispatch operator they might have to.d her to go in herself or prioritised her accordingly. She will never know.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about these subjects:

Allergies General health
changeforprivacy · 01/12/2019 13:40

@SoupDragon

If you feel it's fine for OP to have a different opinion to me please don't have a go at me for the same thing. That's all it is.

SoupDragon · 01/12/2019 13:41

I think you are part of the problem

Comments like this are what cause the threads on here saying "Should I go to A&E/call an ambulance/whatever". Then people are aghast that the poster is asking on MN

SoupDragon · 01/12/2019 13:42

please don't have a go at me for the same thing.

PMSL at "having a go" 🙄

Selfsettling3 · 01/12/2019 13:44

feelinghelplesstoday paramedics by themselves are often more experienced advanced paramedics who attend to calls where paramedics need more support.

OP I would say if you voted conservative then you are part of the problem.

ArthurEyeTits · 01/12/2019 13:46

If you'd tried to treat it before calling, and he wasn't in a life-threatening condition you didn't need to call 999, in my opinion

This is plain wrong so is advise saying to wait until breathing is compromised.'

A severe allergic reaction such as op has described could be anaphylactic shock - which is classed as a medical emergency.

You most definitely should not wait until breathing is compromised - the patient is likely to be expired before the ambulance arrives.

changeforprivacy · 01/12/2019 13:47

Comments like this are what cause the threads on here saying "Should I go to A&E/call an ambulance/whatever". Then people are aghast that the poster is asking on MN

No they are not. People are the problem. Nobody is questioning whether to go to A&E because I said that, they are questing it because they are the same as OP and don't know.

ClientListQueen · 01/12/2019 13:57

@safariboot the issues are you don't know what calls you're going to get. So it's a busy night and you've staffed for it
But all the calls need someone to stay on the line and wait for an ambulance. A paramedic gets assaulted and goes off sick or their ambulance breaks down. So one of the staff is stuck on the phone longer
If everyone is on the phone, there will be a queue, even if it's a minute or so. If a patient is suicidal, you stay on the phone. But they're not likely to get an ambulance in minutes, it could be an hour that person is tied up on the phone for

Chloemol · 01/12/2019 14:02

If you watch the 999 programmes on tv they do get lots of calls and sometimes there is a delay in answering. Whilst your was an emergency, lots aren’t, they just phone 999 instead of going to a pharmacist or the dr, ‘ as it’s their right’’

They do tell people they can’t hang on they have to take other calls but it happens

WarmSausageTea · 01/12/2019 14:09

DP recently needed an ambulance; we were at the doctor’s, and it wasn’t safe for me to take him. The ambulance took two hours to arrive, because although DP was a priority case, he was in a safe place, which seemed sensible to me. But having got to the hospital, we sat outside in the ambulance for 45 minutes. I appreciate that the hospital was very busy, but what a waste of a much needed resource.

While we were waiting, I was chatting with one of the paramedics, and he was saying they have regular callers who feign illness and symptoms, but of course have to be seen and assessed. I don’t know what the answer is, but the system really is struggling to cope, and I don’t see it getting better any time soon.

None of this is a criticism of the OP, just sharing a recent experience of the service.

Original poster
Crunchymum · 01/12/2019 14:11

I think the poster who said it's about knowing when to call 999, has a good point.

When I rang I was very scared, child is non verbal and has a condition that means she doesn't present as a NT child would (for example she rarely gets temperatures, even when ill). She was also red raw from head to toe, shivering and I was home alone with her.

By the time they rang me back, my practical head had kicked in and I'd ordered a taxi / called my DP etc. I was satisfied I could get us to A&E. Five minutes earlier, I wasn't sure I could do that.

OP posts:
treeglass · 01/12/2019 14:11

I once had to call an ambulance for DH he rang me at work and said he had a temp of 41.5 couldn't breath properly and felt like he was going to collapse but didn't want to bother anyone.
I rang an ambulance and by the time I got home 8 mile journey paremedics had him in the ambulance with drips in and were about to race off. He had pneumonia/sepsis.
She rang ahead to the hospital but when we got there they wanted to place him at the back of the queue of trolleys in the corridor.
The paramedic fought his corner about how seriously ill he was and thanks to her He was taken into a room and we soon had ICU doctors down to us.
He would of died if it wasn't for the paramedics getting to him in under 5 minutes and her kicking up a fuss.
The nhs is extremely stretched Sad

anxioussue · 01/12/2019 14:23

surgery told me in opening hours to drive dc there if having an attack because it was quicker than 999.:

mencken · 01/12/2019 14:28

as long as we keep refusing to vote for higher taxes it will only get worse. And unless you live next door to the ambulance station you'll never get a response in time to save some lives.

learn first aid including CPR, keep a first aid kit (the lifesaving stuff) and enough cash in the house for a taxi.

and if you or any of your mates think it is cool to get drugged or drunk enough to need hospital treatment; don't give your heads a wobble, give each other a good kicking because you are part of the problem.

changeforprivacy · 01/12/2019 14:33

@Crunchymum

I'm sorry for saying you were part of the problem. I was being a twat and I really don't think you are at all.

VenusClapTrap · 01/12/2019 14:34

Hear hear mencken

Original poster
Crunchymum · 01/12/2019 14:46

@changeforprivacy

I'm not offended, I posed the question as to whether I'm part of the problem. I appreciate everyone's opinions.

@mencken

What kind of of people do you knock about with? I can assure you none of my friends get drunk (or drugged up Shock) enough to need an ambulance.

I had to pass a CPR workshop before my child was discharged from neonatal, unfortunately it's no use for anaphylaxis (which I knew my DC didn't have of course!!)

OP posts:
Greenwingmemories · 01/12/2019 14:47

I'm with you Mencken. This is not aimed at the OP but part of the larger discussion, we have to be able to look after ourselves and use the lowest possible clinical services. For example, the pharmacist before the Practice nurse, the nurse before the GP, the GP before going to A&E, going to A&E before calling an ambulance.

For instance, when my son got extremely ill with excess alcohol, I looked up the signs of alcohol poisoning, which he didn't have, and monitored him during the night until he was coherent and no longer sick, rather than schlepping up at A&E. We need to save those services for the most sick or in need. I don't know how people can face themselves turning up at A&E with a cold or ringing up with a broken nail.

ukgift2016 · 01/12/2019 14:52

Awful and how scary.

Gogreen · 01/12/2019 14:56

I have only ever called ambulance in the past 5 years and have never been put on hold. I literally only call when it’s a emergency though, so think I would hit total panicked stations if I called and was to be put on hold. Didint even know that could happen!!

VenusClapTrap · 01/12/2019 14:57

I don’t think that Mencken’s post was aimed at you op, but as a general point. The fact is that on Friday and Saturday nights the ambulance service and A&E are choked with drunkards and drug related problems.

VenusClapTrap · 01/12/2019 14:59

Maybe on sobering up, those people should be made to do some kind of community service - hospital related.

gumdrop2 · 01/12/2019 15:14

We had this the other day my Nan is 78 and we'd been shopping came home she asked me for two anadins by the time I'd got them and come back she was out cold on the stairs, had wet herself and was unresponsive I phoned for an ambulance couldn't get through and when we finally did they said there really busy at the moment but we will send someone when they can, she then came round didn't know where or who she was and the ambulance arrived about half an hour later was horrible. I thought she was dying or dead