To be pissed off with even a discussion about calling 999 in a non emergency.

[Buddhagirl]

There is a serious problem in this country with people calling 999 or going to A&E for medical problems that can be sorted by non emergency services.

It really really annoys me. There should be no debate. The nhs is overstretched, ring nhs direct, call your gp, go to a pharmacy, go to a drop in clinic. If it is serious drive to casualty, if it's life threatening call an ambulance. AIBU to expect people to do this and respect the nhs?

My Best Friend died at the age of 20 because she was taken to the GP surgery instead of an ambulance being called (allergic reaction).

I have called NHS direct twice due to my mothers asthma and heart problems and both times they insisted on an ambulance even tho I told them I was quite capable of driving her.

After I shattered my wrist and needed surgery I was discharged from the hospital first thing the following morning. I couldn't drive, was 15 miles from home and had no money, no one to call (all family were abroad at the time), and was high as a kite on pain killers...they weren't very interested. I was on JSA at the time and due to the break couldn't physically sign so they made me move to ESA, even tho I was still looking for work, causing a huge gap where I was left totally skint for 5 weeks, by the time the claim changed I was almost healed...typical. I had no money for the bus and I was just shunted out.

People will always get it wrong because everyone has different expectations...it's just unfortunately the way the world works.

But what do you DOO? I was once D&V with blood both ends, explosively so. I was desperately ringing everyone I knew nearby, but nobody was answering :( It wasnt life threatening but I was very poorly. NHS direct said to phone ambulance if I couldnt get hold of anyone, taxi a no no obviously. In the end I got hold of a member of the family.

It was ecoli bowel infection not infectious at all. On the flip side of the coin, people need to have the confidence that they can ring 999 if it might be an emergency. It isnt alway obvious to the non-medically trained, but may be urgent.

If you or someone else is having trouble breathing then ring an ambulance, that is urgent and life threatening.

We won't get it right all the time because we are not doctors but I just think there should be no argument around using 999 for it's intended purpose.

There are idiots who call 999 for trivial/nuisance reasons. I would direct my anger at them not at (for ex) women in labour who have no other way of getting to hospital. It is worth remembering that some people live in very rural areas without public transport, and even in urban areas people can have to take 2 or 3 buses to get there.

When I started getting contractions with DS1 and called the labour ward, I was asked if I had anyone to bring me in. I didn't. I was TOLD to call an ambulance.

I have only called an ambulance on one other occasion when a 7 month old DS1 (who had been suffering what seemed like D&V) passed a nappy full of blood. He had emergency bowel surgery a few hours later.

I don't consider I was BU in either case.

Yes, when my 2 year old vomited blood, I called an ambulance, not because I don't drive, but because I was certain he needed immediate medical attention.

Is that okay with all of you even though it wound up being nothing? Shall I check with MN if myself or my child is ill enough before I dial? Would that make you happy?

Not everyone who calls for an ambulance is entitled or thinks they NHS is never ending. Of us actually have an emergency, or what appears to be an emergency, that might turn out to be nothing.

So do fuck off.

Sometimes it's hard to know if it's an emergency or not. Getting angry and ranting like the OP will, I fear, put people off calling when really they should.

For example, I once got some sort of bathroom cleaning chemical in my eyes. It was literally rolling around on the floor screaming in agony pain. My neighbour came crashing through the back door, saw me and immediately called 999. Was this life threatening or serious enough to warrant the ambulance?

I called an ambulance for the first time a couple of months ago. I had a seizure a week from my due date and was by myself. I called the labour Ward who told me in no uncertain terms to call an ambulance. I wasn't coherent enough to ring round everyone I knew and didn't have the money for a taxi, did I do the wrong thing?

It is frustrating when you're told to do one thing by one set of people and then get shitcanned for it.

The OP isn't saying never ring an ambulance ever, seizures, heavy bleeding, breathing problems etc are all obviously emergencies, IMO normal term labour is it, you've had 9 months to put a plan in place.

OK fair enough that many people take the piss.. but if you genuinely have no other way of getting someone to hospital wtf else are you supposed to do? taxis cost money people often just don't have. all very well saying that if it isn't life threatening then get yourself to hospital but in some situations there isn't an alternative.

I've called an ambulance out to my diabetic dh a few times, more often than not hr can be treated at home by the paramedics. cheaper than a hospital admission I'm sure.

Another occasion dh was in hospital with a different life threatening illness, he needed to be transferred to another hospital but waited two days and an ambulance didn't come free in that time. in the end he was upgraded to a blue light transfer as that was the only way he was going to get moved. Far more expensive and completely unnecessary. madness.

But all those examples you lots have given are all perfectly valid reasons for ringing an ambulance.

I think the OP is talking about people that ring 999 because they have stubbed their toe or grazed their knee rather than for an emergency.

I don't think telling OP to 'fuck off' is at all called for.

If you are in labour:

It is not always possible to take a taxi;

There may be no public transport/ too far/ labour may be progressing too quickly (my nearest hospital was over 1.5 hours by bus, 25 mins by car)

Not everyone has car owning friends/family (what are you meant to do, specifically befriend car owners for that reason?!)

Even IF you do know people with cars, they may not be around at that time

So seriously what IS the alternative? I am intrigued.

Children deteriorate very quickly so if they are struggling to breathe then if course you should call an ambulance. Croup and bronchiolitis can be very serious in a little one.

When I had a seizure and didn't know who's baby was led on the bed (dd2) where I was (at home) or where dd1 was I should have rung an ambulance as I was too scared of being told off for not needing it
Instead I phoned my brother who was 2 hours away and he kindly pointed me in the direction of the dr!

I don't understand why it might not always be possible to take a taxi? If your having a precipitate labour (super quick) and you're likely to deliver at home without medical attendance then of course, phone an ambulance, that is an emergency! Most people do know someone with access to a car, I refuse to believe that a 999 ambulance is the only option to someone in normal, term, labour.

a lot of people on this thread have quite rightly called ambulances when they have needed to and dont need to justify it at all

What the op is talking about is the idiots who abuse the emergency service.

I worked with paramedics for 3 weeks and over half of the calls were from entitled fuck wits who should/could have gone to the doctor surgery and it didnt take a genuis or someone with medical training to know that. These were for minor injuries that did not require medical attention.

I know there are some cases when it is hard to judge if its the right thing to call an ambulance, but cases like a some of those I saw were just blindingly obviously not an emergency requiring an ambulance.

Women in labour is difficult,

The ambulance service is a precious and very important resource, it needs to be used wisely or it may not be there when it is really needed as has happened in to many tragic cases.

The problem with breathing problems is that I find it can be really hard to tell what is dangerous and what is a normal baby cold.

Ds had a cold this week and I took him into a+e, he was breathing faster than normal and he was coughing so much his eyes were watering. When he had bronchiolitis he didn't look much different to how he looked last week (when he had bronchiolitis he was very very sick and the nurses were paniking he was so ill). At a+e they took his blood oxygen saturation level and it was 98/99% which is fantastic for a baby with a cold so we went home.

I would say that some people call ambulences for silly reasons but lots of people are to careful (me included) and should call for help sooner.

Velvetspoon, I'm sure there are extenuating circumstances that warrant calling an ambulance when in labour. But if in normal labour you do have other ways of getting to the hospital, then you should use it. After all you have a long time to plan it. If every woman that went into labour called an ambulance, there wouldn't be any left. Labour isn't an emergency and shouldn't be used as such. That doesn't mean that there aren't circumstances where calling an ambulance is inappropriate.

Sometimes it is a hard call to make.

I remember waiting for a GP once for my son and when they got here (in the good old days when they made home visits) I was told I should have called 999. He had a chest infection but ended up needing oxygen.

My rule of thumb now is to call 111 and get them to make the decision for me, unless of course it is very obvious 999 is needed. I don't drive, my dh doesn't have a car so we do have money put aside in case we need a taxi in an emergency situation. I am always surprised when people don't have a bit of emergency money put away for taxi's etc.

I agree with you OP. A girl I once knew called 999 for her son simply because she didn't want to pay for a parking space up the hospital.

BTW If my waters had broke at home I would have called 999 straight away.

I give birth within an hour of contractions starting, so for me that would mean baby on the way any second.

" Apart from that we should all stop expecting to be ferried her there and everywhere for a broken wrist or a bloody nose bleed."

WRONG

When I broke my arm, someone called an ambulance for me.
I had said it was unnecessary because the hospital wasn't far away.

I was told off royally for that by the medics - if I had collapsed on the way there from the shock (because your body goes into shock when you're broken something in order to protect you from the pain), then it would have been a lot worse for me.

If in doubt, call an ambulance.

I think it's usually fairly obvious what's not an emergency though...
(but I would sooner stupid people not take the risk)

This whole ambulance thing. I'm not sure if it's country wide, maybe not but if you do a 999 here in London, there are paramedic outriders strategically placed all round the borough. So one of those turns up with whatever is packed on a motorbike or in a small car, they do an assessment and mike over to the ambulance whether it's needed or not.

Again, they aren't doctors and I'm sure they don't always get it right either, but in my experience, they will give you the option to go to hospital or not, as the case may be. Or even suggest there is not much wrong but a professional check up would be in order.

Actually, the ambulance prioritise people who are not breathing, for example, so by phoning an ambulance for bleeding, you are not necessarily depriving someone of an ambulance. This is why they ask so many questions.

However, I've been told by an A&E consultant that in the case of broken limbs there can be many further difficulties caused by people not bothering an ambulance and getting in their own car, rather than have the paramedics immobilise it properly.

I don't think it's good for people to be phoning ambulances for trivial reasons, however, it'd also not helpful to suggest that people should never phone an ambulance.

I repeat, there are NO taxis that take a woman in labour here even if their waters HAVEN'T broken, just on case they do.

I'm NOT saying I personally call out ambulances unnecessarily, I've only used an ambulance 7 times since I entered adulthood - once when I was seriously ill with double pneumonia, 4 times when DS2 was having life threatening asthma attacks, and once when I had a massive seizure. (I have epilepsy).

The rest of the time I get on a bus, or use a taxi, unless there is blood or body fluid leakage.

The reason I used an ambulance for my DS2's asthma attacks is because he needed urgent oxygen as his SATS were below 80%. Ditto when I had double pneumonia. And I wasn't the one to call when I had the massive seizure, but I had broken my collar bone, and torn my shoulder muscle.

It's all very well saying that normal term labour isn't an emergency, but with DS2 when I went into labour at term and called the hospital to let them know I was on the way in, they told me to stay put and not come in as it would take 30 mins at least at I would likely give birth before then.

DH was there and could have taken me but they told him to call an ambulance and not to risk it otherwise I would have given birth on the hard shoulder!! I was glad the paramedics did come as they arrived within a few minutes with the G&A and the midwives took ages to arrive. DS2 was born very shortly after the midwives got there.

So, it may not have been an emergency as such, but would have been if we hadn't called them out. And yes, as pp said, the ambulance has equipment that DH in his car doesn't, so sometimes getting a paramedic to you quickly is needed, it isn't just about transport - they don't have to take you into hospital - I didn't go in at all with DS2. They just left once I had finished my PPH and they knew I would be OK left with the midwives.

Also, we called 999 once with DS1 when he broke his arm, and it was all at a really sticky-out angle and he was screaming, because again they were nearby (there is an ambulance based in the next small town, whereas the nearest A&E is 30 mins+) and he needed strong pain relief asap. Yes, both DH & I were there and yes, either one of us could have driven him, but in agony with a bad break (needed surgery) that could have got worse by being in a bumpy car, I made the right choice.

And as for people calling unnecessarily, that obviously does happen - but even where people could get to hospital or could call OOH sometimes people panic, they don't know what to do and they want someone who knows what they are doing there asap. I don't think that is wrong, it is being human and being scared. We're not all rational when scared. (Actually I am, ridiculously calm in an emergency, but I am aware I am weird like that!).

I work in a hospital so get to see cases where people arrive by ambulance all the time - and you know what? I would much rather they 'bother us' with something that they didn't really need to than spend all day on the floor waiting for someone to come home to help them, which is sadly very common .

I've been in a&e twice this week with each dd, both were admitted for varying lengths. When you are waiting with your baby shaking, burning yet blue and some stupid entitled woman is whining on about an ambulance being too busy for her and having to wait when there is bugger all wrong with her then I think ops rage will become clear.

If less people wasted the NHSs time perhaps when we needed them the service would be faster.