What's the done thing - ambulance blocking me in

[rightsofwomen]

Ambulance (no flashing lights) outside blocking me (and 5 neighbours) in.

Need to leave (non urgent) in 10 mins.
I can’t ask them to move, can I?

[JonSnowsWife]

If you see a paramedic stroll out to the ambulance to get something it might be ok to approach them.

No it is not. A paramedic 'strolling' out to my ambulance was getting the oxygen tank whilst the one inside was still pouring all sorts of drugs into my veins.

The only assessment of an emergency situation with most sensible people needed is that it is attending an emergency.

[hingedspeculum]

Yes absolutely JonSnowsWife. The audacity to think you have enough information that warrants questioning their ambulance crew's actions.

A friend was thankfully at home with my DP when he collapsed following chemotherapy. As I literally ran down the street home, a woman in her car behind the ambulance asked me to ask them to move it as her shopping was defrosting.

[JonSnowsWife]

he went off again saying it's not urgent as their lights were night on.

That's bollocks and we also have a similar cock of a neighbour the neighbour knows it. NDNs DC had a fit & stopped breathing. It never had it's lights on when it got here but it was still an emergency. Thankfully her DC is okay now.

[confusedlittleone]

Yes in an ideal world they shouldn't block anyone in- but if the choice was death or block someone in I know what I'd chose every time!

[Ellybellyboo]

We are regularly blocked in by an ambulance. We have an elderly lady at the top of our road who falls regularly

I usually just wait until it's gone, but earlier this week I had somewhere urgent to be with my daughter. I waited and waited and waited, but had to ask them to move in the end.

It's a bit annoying that they block us in though, the road is fairly narrow and the ambulance stops in the middle of the road, blocking it. If they pulled up against the kerb we could all still get past

[JonSnowsWife]

Yes absolutely JonSnowsWife. The audacity to think you have enough information that warrants questioning their ambulance crew's actions.

I know right? What made it even worse with our cock of a neighbour was his wife excusing his behaviour. Then she said to my DM "oh ee yjougjt it was JonSnows DD at first".

So they still thought it would have been perfectly acceptable to interrupt a paramedic in the course of their duty to yell at them if it was a seriously ill child too?

I've never got this mindset. The only thing I've only ever thought when an ambulance is parked up outside is "oh gosh I hope they're okay".

[JonSnowsWife]

*we thought

[Butterymuffin]

Glad you made it out OP! You were very reasonable.

I've had reason to call out am ambulance and the paramedics take time to assess the situation and make the patient comfortable. People feeling impatient should count their blessings that they're not the patient.

[TopBitchoftheWitches]

I directed an ambulance to park up over my drive a few weeks ago. My neighbour is not well.

[MovingOnUpMovingOnOut]

I'm amazed that people think lights off/on indicates the level of emergency. That's not even logical!

Lights and sirens are about being seen and heard so people can get out of the way. Not really a priority for a stationary vehicle unless it's stopped somewhere unusual when it needs to be extra visible to avoid an accident.

Granted it's more likely for an ambulance to need to put lights and sirens on for an emergency while moving but while stationary? That's just silly.

[WeAllHaveWings]

We are regularly blocked in by an ambulance. We have an elderly lady at the top of our road who falls regularly

I usually just wait until it's gone, but earlier this week I had somewhere urgent to be with my daughter. I waited and waited and waited, but had to ask them to move in the end.

I am not sure what you are trying to say? because it is an elderly lady needing an emergency service more than a couple of times makes it ok to ask emergency service personal to move an ambulance because you have been inconvenienced more than once? The lady will still be injured, in pain or shock, which can kill the elderly and frail, and need attending to as an emergency. You don't know what is going on inside that house.

[JacquesHammer]

I am not sure what you are trying to say? because it is an elderly lady needing an emergency service more than a couple of times makes it ok to ask emergency service personal to move an ambulance because you have been inconvenienced more than once? The lady will still be injured, in pain or shock, which can kill the elderly and frail, and need attending to as an emergency. You don't know what is going on inside that house.

Not the poster in question but I read it as she usually doesn't ask them to move but on this occasion she had to as she had somewhere urgent to be?

[Floralnomad]

I had an ambulance called for me a few weeks ago in the night. We live on a quiet residential estate type street . The first car arrived with no blue lights ( all info from adult dc) at about 11.30 , the actual ambulance arrived equally with no lights/ siren at about 12.30 , we left the house with silent blue lights at about 1:15 . When I spoke to my NDN about 2 weeks later they had no idea that I had even been in hospital for 5 days , let alone that an ambulance and paramedic car had attended our house .

[ukelelebanana]

Come on, lets be reasonable. I have had an urgent ambulance to my house several times, and it does block the road. It's not ok to ask them to move, generally.
But on the other side, we once had one that came out, by the time they got there things had calmed, they assessed, and that took quite a while. A neighbour knocked and asked politely if the ambulance could possibly move as they had their own emergency happening, and they absolutely needed to get past. They could tell the ambulance has been there for a while, we clearly weren't haring off to hospital. It wasn't an issue to move for them.

Let's all be reasonable, shall we?

[Ellybellyboo]

We get blocked in about once a fortnight. Normally I never ask.

On this occasion I had somewhere urgent to be so I had to ask (I was taking my daughter to have a colonoscopy)

[confusedlittleone]

@ukelelebanana sometimes in an emergency they need to get the patient either more stable before they can move them, or are doing cpr for close to an hour+ so an ambulance being there for awhile isnt really an indication of emergency

[WeAllHaveWings]

Not the poster in question but I read it as she usually doesn't ask them to move but on this occasion she had to as she had somewhere urgent to be?

It is still unreasonable to ask an ambulance attending an emergency callout to move unless you have a true emergency situation yourself for example getting someone to A&E, urgent situations such as getting to a dentist appointment/work on time, picking a child up do not warrant interrupting emergency service personal while attending an emergency callout. It sounds very much like she is minimising their callout because the patient is elderly and falls a lot.

[jacks11]

I think it depends on how urgent it is- for a non-urgent thing I would wait, but for something more serious such as to get to an important hospital appointment or to go to work, then I would ask. Although I wouldn't get blocked in where I live (rural) but I wouldn't be able to get a bus or walk, and I wouldn't be able to get a taxi at short notice.

There are times when ambulance crews end up stuck with a patient waiting for something- e.g. a call back from the GP or out of hours GP- so they could feasibly be asked to move without endangering anybody. In a situation where you actually do need to go, I don't think it is unreasonable to (politely) enquire if it would be possible if the ambulance can move- as long as you accept (with good grace) if it can't/don't ask if it is patently obvious something serious is going on when you arrive on the doorstep.

[ukelelebanana]

@ukelelebanana sometimes in an emergency they need to get the patient either more stable before they can move them, or are doing cpr for close to an hour+ so an ambulance being there for awhile isnt really an indication of emergency

If you read my post you can tell I am fully aware of the procedures and possibilities. In the example given however the person who asked for it to be moved was having an emergency while we, with the ambulance, were not.
Are you suggesting my neighbour should not have asked if it could be moved?

[Ellybellyboo]

It sounds very much like she is minimising their callout because the patient is elderly and falls a lot.

No, it was explaining that it happens regularly and that I would never normally ask. On this occasion, I had to be somewhere urgent (taking my daughter to have a colonoscopy) so had to ask

[WeAllHaveWings]

But on the other side, we once had one that came out, by the time they got there things had calmed, they assessed, and that took quite a while. A neighbour knocked and asked politely if the ambulance could possibly move as they had their own emergency happening, and they absolutely needed to get past. They could tell the ambulance has been there for a while, we clearly weren't haring off to hospital. It wasn't an issue to move for them.

Absolutely ok, to ask if you have a real emergency not just an urgent appointment, or late for the cinema. When my neighbour was suffering his heart attack they were in there for well over 30 minutes, before blue lighting him off in the ambulance to Glasgow for immediate life saving procedures. Not sure exactly what they were doing during that time as I didn't ask the details, but I know he was terrified and a neighbour knocking on the door to ask the ambulance to move because they had somewhere to be would have been seriously inappropriate.

[JonSnowsWife]

we clearly weren't haring off to hospital

Not 'haring off to the hospital' does not mean it is not an emergency. The reason they often take so long to move is because the patient is too ill to move in the first place.

[SomethingNewToday]

I think people are a little ott about never daring to ask an ambulance if they could move

There's no harm in asking...if you knock a door once and there's no answer or they say it can't be moved then so be it.

I had this yesterday...I needed to urgently get my car out so knocked the door where the ambulance was and they came and moved it no problems.

[ukelelebanana]

Yes, I know. Could you stop explaining how ambulances work to someone who has told you they have had many to their house?

I was talking specifically about one instance, not about all in general. I think that was obvious.

[BeingATwatItsABingThing]

but for something more serious such as to get to an important hospital appointment or to go to work, then I would ask

Is getting to work really that urgent that you have to ask a paramedic to stop delivering potentially life saving treatment to move their ambulance? I think I would ring my work and explain the situation and get in as soon as you can.