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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this was a gross misuse of the emergency services

300 replies

retainertrainer · 29/12/2017 14:20

DSis phoned me this morning. I missed the call as I was in work. I couldn’t talk but was able to send her a text asking if she was ok (she knew I was working so I thought something must be wrong for her to ring). She messed back saying she’d fallen down the stairs and couldn’t get up. I obviously called her straight back. She was crying but calmed down enough to explain that she’d actually missed the bottom step and landed at an awkward angle,her ankle was in a lot of pain. In the time it’d taken me to ring her back she’d also called 999 for an ambulance,her DP and our Dad (who lives a street away). By the end of our phone call her partner had arrived home and my Dad followed shortly.

The 3 of them then sat and waited 30 minutes for an ambulance. They all drive, 3 cars were at the house. No attempt made to get sis on her feet and into the car. They could have been to a&e themselves in 15! I understand she panicked when it first happened and for all she knew it could have been broken but for none of them to even attempt to get her on her feet and drive her themselves astounds me! Turns out it’s a bad sprain. I’m so cross with them all!

OP posts:
BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot · 29/12/2017 15:24

The necessity depends on the situation. If you can scoop a child up and do no damage it makes sense to scoop and run. If your leg is hanging off and you're 2 hours from a hospital perhaps not so much.

gingergenius · 29/12/2017 15:25

I guarantee when I ruptured my acl I couldn't hop anywhere. I couldn't stand. Every time I did, the pain was so overwhelming I kept passing out. We're all different. An ambulance took me to hospital and I had gas and air for the pain.

I wasn't going to die. The paramedic chose to call the ambulance because the person I was with (who had a car and could have driven me) in his opinion would have put both me and herself in more danger by driving whilst distracted by an injured passenger. It's not black and white.

othistledonicely · 29/12/2017 15:26

...lots of armchair medics here....I work in frontline service and I can not say strongly enough..999 ambulances are for immediatley life threatening situations only..for people who need treatment on the way to hospital to keep them alive....not for every minor wee problem...we are struggling daily to try to meet 999 demands ...and suffering untold abuse when we cant provide an ambulance for minor ailments/injuries....its beyond breathtaking the sense of entitlement that i continually have to listen to..i truly despair for the future of our health service....

gingergenius · 29/12/2017 15:27

@othistledonicely so perhaps you'd better tell that to your paramedics then!

Lweji · 29/12/2017 15:29

You are right that they could have cancelled, but among all the misuses of the emergency services, this was not gross misuse nor a reason to be cross with them all.

Sometimes, people in stress situations don't think straight and act more or less foolishly.
Besides, they probably didn't know they'd have to wait 30 min, and once you start waiting, you usually keep waiting because it could arrive any minute.
Furthermore, they probably thought it was already on it's way, so no point in sending it back.

BTW, if it had been broken, a split bone could sever an large blood vessel and cause a massive hemorrage.
Perhaps they didn't feel confident enough to judge what it was.

It's not black and white, as you seem to think.

Notreallyarsed · 29/12/2017 15:29

Why don’t people call 111 and if THEY deem it an emergency, they will send an ambulance? It means less calls to 999 and less ambulances being sent to things that people could sort out themselves.

Sallystyle · 29/12/2017 15:30

People saying an ambulance was necessary need to get a grip.

No, people are saying it may have been needed, and sometimes they are needed for certain injuries, and that at the time the OP's sister and family may genuinely have believed they needed a paramedic to move her.

Not everyone has the basic medical knowledge or confidence to make those decisions. The controller decided to send the ambulance in 30 minutes.

The family got it wrong. No need for OP to feel angry and post here so she doesn't cause a family argument about it. It's hardly a massive crime and if anyone needs a grip it's the OP who needs to vent here so she doesn't argue with her family over a decision they made and got wrong.

Hulder · 29/12/2017 15:30

YANBU.

When my elderly DM fell and broke her arm, she was unable to get herself up. She crawled to the phone and was told she was low priority and then waited on the floor for 8 hours for an ambulance.

When the paramedics finally arrived she was critically unwell with sepsis, the reason she'd actually fallen over, and internal bleeding as she is on blood thinners.

She had to wait 8 hours alone on the floor as they were busy prioritising things like healthy young people with a broken ankle who could have hopped to a car.

othistledonicely · 29/12/2017 15:31

if you call 111 they can action a 1hr..2hr or 4hr ambulance...not 999.

BeyondThePage · 29/12/2017 15:32

@othistledonicely - need to let 111 and 999 and the paramedic first responders know then.

DD was in agony on the floor with a dislocated kneecap - in the gap between the door and the fridge - unable to move, no room to get in to lift her out. Rang 111 they sent an ambulance.

Lweji · 29/12/2017 15:32

She had to wait 8 hours alone on the floor as they were busy prioritising things like healthy young people with a broken ankle who could have hopped to a car.

How do you know?

Notreallyarsed · 29/12/2017 15:32

@othistledonicely they sent one in 6 minutes when my son developed a petechial rash while I was on the phone. Your numbers are nonsensical, in an emergency they would send a priority ambulance.

cricketqueen · 29/12/2017 15:32

I slipped down one step once and broke my foot in 3 places..... I went to a and e in a taxi but that was cause I knew I could move and tbh my DH didn't believe I had hurt myself as I 'only fell down one step'. I couldn't tell if it was broken, sprained or whatever (triage nurse told me no swelling so wasn't broken so didn't even get painkillers). I can understand why if she was alone and in pain she panicked and phoned for help. Once others arrived they could have phoned back so the ambulance could be used elsewhere.

BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot · 29/12/2017 15:33

@hulder you make assumptions. Chances are she, like a lot of elderly people, didn't want to make a fuss "oh I'm alright dear don't worry" is a common utterance from elderly people. Why didn't she chase it in that time? Why didn't she call you as a family to help her?

Chances are the ambulances were with other emergency situations.

Lots of people seem to think the NHS has psychic abilities and know who should be prioritised and who shouldn't and get angry they weren't prioritised AFTER they know the diagnosis.

MaisyPops · 29/12/2017 15:34

It makes you wonder if her wording to 999 was 'i've fallen down the stairs'.

I've been in an ambulance for falling down the stairs, as in properly fell and couldn't move. Also broken many bones over the years clumsy and accident prone . Ambulances are for serious illness or injuries e.g. serious falls, knocked off your bike, head injuries

But then I remember one woman when i was in A&E with suspected break who was shouting at reception that she'd come to A&E because her GP was 'fucking useless' because he had said period pain shpuld be treated with paracetamol and ibruprofen. I don't know how the receptionist kept their cool. Funnily enough there was a right brutr in A&E who told this woman exactly what a bloody joke she was. She still ended up having to be seen.

othistledonicely · 29/12/2017 15:34

in our area inappropriate 999 calls get bounced to 111 service...after they have been assessed by clinical advisor in the ambulance service....it certainly helps to lighten the load...

Gwenhwyfar · 29/12/2017 15:35

"The government has increased taxation on everyday folk"

Has it? I think it possibly should, but I don't see how it has.

Notreallyarsed · 29/12/2017 15:35

How do you know that?

othistledonicely · 29/12/2017 15:36

i wish my numbers were nonsensical....the aim is 7 min response..but there have been a few incidences recently where that was up to 2 hrs...horrific or all concerned

MajesticWhine · 29/12/2017 15:36

YANBU. I have driven DC to a&e after a fall down the stairs. Also driven DH with a broken rib. An ambulance is for life threatening scenarios. Not a sore ankle.

Ifitquackslikeaduck · 29/12/2017 15:38

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Lweji · 29/12/2017 15:39

Lots of people seem to think the NHS has psychic abilities and know who should be prioritised and who shouldn't and get angry they weren't prioritised AFTER they know the diagnosis

It must be really hard, particularly on the phone. Most people aren't good at giving a good description of what they have, and some will exaggerate while others will downplay it.

Even face to face and professionals don't get it right.
Twice, triage nurses didn't assess my DS properly, with breathing problems.
Once, he was sent home by doctors and had to return to hospital for an overnight stay.

KurriKurri · 29/12/2017 15:39

999 will assess whether you need an ambulance anyway - you don't actually make the decision yourself. They will ask questions, give advice and they will send what they consider the most appropriate type of responder. Or they might advise you get yourself to the hospital.

Ultimately you can't demand an ambulance, and if they don't think you need one, they won't send one.
The guidance on whether you need the ambulance surely has to come from those with knowledge who respond to your request. That's why people train to be HCP so they can help people who aren't trained make the correct call in situations of pain and distress.

Notreallyarsed · 29/12/2017 15:39

So if the aim is a 7 minute response, why did you state so confidently and wrongly that they can’t send an emergency ambulance? And how do you know they divert inappropriate 999 calls to 111?

DeepanKrispanEven · 29/12/2017 15:39

But she’d sprained it. I’ve broken bones and sprained things and it feels distinctly different.

Not necessarily: if you've been on MN any length of time you are likely to have come across a number of stories of people breaking their bones and failing to realise it. Plus if you've never had a broken bone before, how would you know what it feels like?

Please don't trivialise the "missing the bottom step" thing. I broke my ankle by similar means - it turned out to be a trimalleolar fracture requiring two operations, 8 weeks non-weight bearing in plaster, and lots of physiotherapy, and still gives me problems several years later. And yes, my university hall of residence where it happened did call the ambulance.