To think this was a gross misuse of the emergency services

[retainertrainer]

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!

Not the same thing at all.

Also from what's OP said it doesn't sound like a severe injury or she wouldn't be posting this thread

Wow! I'm shocked the ambulance came through!
I waited 2 and a half hours next to busy road with a shattered knee cap. Husband ended up bundling me into the car and I nearly passed out 3 times with the pain.

So yes gross abuse of the system. If I managed to get into a car with my knee cap in literal pieces on advise of the ambulance dispatchers then she could have walked on a sore ankle.

BumpowderSneezeonAndSnot The relative didn't have you severity of injury from what OP said; would you call an ambulance for a mild sprain?

your

BumPowder - yes. I fell down stairs which were stairs, then a platform, then stairs and landed on the bottom step sat on my ankle. I broke my ankle, foot and tore all the ligaments. I spent 8 weeks in a cast then a walking boot and had lots of physio afterwards
My dad happened to be there, moved the car to right outside the door and helped me hop in. It was bloody painful and I cried over every speed bump but an ambulance was never even mentioned. He said afterwards it didn't cross his mind as the car was there, he could take me, I wasn't dying/bleeding/leg hanging off. Different generation I guess

No of course it's not suitable for a mild sprain but again no way of knowing that. We only have what the OP has biasedly posted

Pain also doesn't equal severity. Someone can be in agony with a sprain or no pain with a real, same for heart attacks etc, so 999 never triage on pain. If it's busy enough for high demand, then people with distal injuries will be told to make their own way to a&e

Ollivander84 i don't know how old you are but I have the same values as you and I'm in my thirties.

Does an imminent - as in might happen outside the flat - birth count as a life threatening situation?

I would say yes of course as mother and babies will need urgent medical attention.

baby

Elspeth - I'm amazed you dad did that. I think it's not safe to drive yourself, surely, if you have an injury that's fresh and hasn't settled.

I don't advocate calling an ambulance or even doctor for every little thing, but being reluctant to seek help isn't always a good thing. I've worked with the elderly and I've encountered many circumstances where clients would have saved the NHS a lot of money,and themselves a great deal of suffering by seeking help sooner.

"if the limb did have a break, man-handling the injured person into the car could make the break worse. "

Would that also apply if it was splinted?

There were two adult men there- they could have carried her to the car.

I worked in A&E for years and OH was a paramedic.
I have seen a hell of a lot of misuse of emergency services.
But I am pretty fed up of the rise in competitive virtue signalling wrt medicine.
There are SO many threads on MN slagging off people for not doing injured/sick the right way.

Its annoying.

It doesn't really matter what is wrong with someone, there will ALWAYS be someone ready to tell them they are a terrible person for calling 999/going to A&E/their GP and they are responsible for killing a sick person.

Give it a bloody rest.

That's okay then, because it happened to me and I had no car or partner. I was starting to feel guilty.

ringle- I think some people go the other way with panic. So some panic and ring an ambulance, some underestimate and drive. I drove myself to hospital with cauda equina which in hindsight is ridiculous given that really is an emergency but I was perfectly calm and packed a bag first I'm an idiot

I'm surprised the ambulance came. They're rolling out new criteria so broken bones aren't included. My dc primary school called an ambulance when a dc broke his arm (everyone heard the snapping sound) and was told they'd have to transport him themselves despite no staff having insurance to cover them (they do now have this in place). 999 is for life-threatening emergencies only (which is says on the sides of our local ambulances).

Even the NHS website says 999 might be necessary for a broken ankle.

Well yes, if it’s a bad break like the nhs site states, meaning there are bones protruding through the skin then one might consider ringing an ambulance.

I hope everyone saying it's ok to call an ambulance for a broken/sprained ankle never needs help in a real emergency but has to wait because the crew are attending to a non emergency.

I’ve been chatting with my mother about this. She has told me (she’s a reliable witness) that last summer, her and my father were at a pub during a family day. A child fell off his bike; no head bang, no loss of consciousness, no drowsiness, no specific pain, just the general whimpering of a small child with some cuts and grazes.

The parents wanted him checked out (fair enough).

The parents decided to phone an ambulance.

A member of bar staff offered to drive the child to the closest hospital, a large, modern regional centre maybe five mins drive away.

Parents refused the offer and phoned for an ambulance.

There were no ground units available....

Can you see what’s coming next?

A fucking air ambulance arrived. An air ambulance. I cannot imagine how much that cost.

her and my father were
Should be
she and my father were.
Obviously.

I fell down stairs when 9 months pregnant and very very badly sprained my ankle. DH called an ambulance and they were actually here in about 5 minutes and brought me straight to the hospital because I was going into shock with pain. No misuse there.