To think most people who phone for an ambulance could make their own way to hospital?

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Either by getting family or friends to drive them there or getting a taxi. Obviously if you’re on the floor with a broken hip etc and can’t be moved or had a severe stroke an ambulance is required but most people I’ve heard on the news recently talking about how long they have waited, I’ve seriously wondered why they waited 20 hours (or thereabouts) and didn’t just get a lift.

I understand this, me and my family have had discussions with my nurse and what need to be done and this is why my dd knew when it was time to ring for an ambulance, we have a time turner thing if that runs out she knows as it was a serious one, but for her teacher to she not to ring an ambulance at all and is telling young children this is not on, if the teacher is explaining when to ring an ambulance I would understand but to not ring the at all I’m just concerned

I have never called an ambulance but when I had to go in one it was because I had fallen and couldn't move (I'd injured my back and it was terrifying) and I was in one over Christmas with my mum over Christmas as she had fallen and as she is non verbal due to dementia they had no idea if she had broken her hip or pelvis - turns out it was her ribs.
All of the people queued up in ambulances/corridors were in serious condition or were elderly. The issue with the lack of ambulances wasn't so much about time wasters (they weren't even getting a look in as they couldn't even manage red calls) it was because they couldn't hand over patients so instead of being on the road they were a car park extension of a&e.

It's not particularly surprising as the hospital mum was in was terribly short staffed and was a 'new' hospital which replaced 2 other facilities reducing the overall bed count in the area - so they can't accept as many patients as they used to.... which is why a&e doesn't work and subsequently the ambulances don't work.
Patients being a PITS is nowhere as near as big a problem as political decisions are for why we are now in this position.

I was thinking this last night watching "ambulance" on BBC 1.

Out of 10,000 calls 200 of these were Cat 1/2.

Meaning 9800 weren't....what prevented most of those accessing A&E in a different way?

They sent an ambulance for me when I had excruciating pain in my upper abdomen and vomitting. All I needed was pain relief, but the paramedics weren't allowed to do injectable pain relief, so they took me in. Ten minutes after a shot of painkiller and anti-emetic, and I was fine, but that was how I found out that a taxi from the hospital was £30.

Maybe I should get a stock of analgesic and anti-emetic suppositories, in case it happens again!

Just curious, if you drive someone to hospital and they've say broken their leg or lost consciousness on way over, can you park in the ambulance bays? How does it work? The hospital car park is downhill from a&e and no loading bays on that side of hospital just a small ambulance bay. What do you actually do if you've driven someone to hospital that can't take themselves into A&E?

A was having a conversation with a Paramedic yesterday. He said that a lot of people think you jump the A&E queue if you arrive by ambulance but it’s not true

My DH stopped in the ambulance bay and went to get me a wheelchair. He then had to leave me in A&E so when the nurse called my name I simply waved at her. She was a bit put out that I couldn’t propel myself towards her.

Yep I’ve known a single mum who whenever her daughter is ill (e.g. bad tonsillitis) or has an appointment at the hospital posts around saying she has been refused an ambulance and can anyone give her a lift. She lives about 40 mins walk from the hospital and definitely has enough money to get a bus ticket or taxi in as this is how she generally gets around anyway (when single between ever changing boyfriends)

My daughter who was 9 months pregnant with her 3rd child came downstairs and said she needed to go to hospital as she could feel the baby coming. I asked if she meant we should get everything together and drive or 999 for an ambulance. She said ambulance.

They said they could not get one to me so were passing me to a midwife to talk through the delivery.

My other daughter arrived at that moment who is a firefighter and trained in high speed driving whilst under immense stress - so she drove her - she had to abandon her car in the car park without finding a space and my daughter gave birth in a side room next to the hospital entrance just 5 mins after arriving. A single queue in traffic and she would have given birth on the side of the road.

So we could and did get her to hospital under our own steam but does anyone really think this was OK???

On another thing - i heard on the radio this morning someone who had waited hours for an ambulance and called the fire service and did not get a very good response. Our fire service is regularly and i mean daily used to deal with ambulance calls - not the most serious but those where people need stabilising whilst waiting for an ambulance. Many of the firefighters have had special training for this. Surely this could be spread wider. They are not always available as they have their own job to do but they are often not busy.

Also the major group for calling ambulances is the very elderly and they often do not have others to call or are very very scared that they are dying and understandably may not be making the best judgement about how seriously ill they are.

The ambulance service told the family not to take that man to hospital but to wait for the ambulance, despite the family calling back to make it clear he was getting worse. If they hadn't said that, that poor man may still be alive.

I live in Scandinavia, and some regions here have a system a bit like that. Last year DH needed to get to hospital. We were 90 minutes from the nearest hospital, had no car, and there was no public transport at that time of night. 999 agreed we needed to get to hospital but did not require an ambulance, so they arranged for a taxi instead.

We had to pay £20 for the taxi, which is the same price as you'd get charged here for an ambulance. Normally a 90-minute taxi ride would cost at least £100, and I I assume the taxi driver/company got paid the difference by the health service.

Unless you're leaking bodily fluids or something why wouldn't a taxi take you in labour? I got a taxi to hospital in my first labour, DH was with me, neither of us drove then. I was in active labour although my waters hadnt broken. I took a puppy pad to sit on in case I did leak anything. Granted it was only about a 10 min drive so I suppose it is a bit different if it's a long journey. But I'm sorry, ambulances absolutely aren't for routine trips to hospital during labour, theyre for an emergency. Families need to plan in advance how they're going to get to hospital if they want to give birth in a hospital.

Yes, I think they're generally over-cautious.

However, when my DP developed severe shortness of breath overnight, after 45 minutes on the phone to 111 they said a doctor would call me back within 45 minutes. He looked much worse by the time that initial call ended and his breathing was noticeably more laboured, and I didn't want to wait. He agreed to go straight to hospital and I drove him there.

He'd had a coronary thrombosis, he arrested on the trolley on the way to the scanner and his heart was so damaged, they couldn't save him. If I'd waited for 111 to call back, he'd probably have died on the sodding sofa.

I think some people are lazy and use them as taxis but most people who call ambulances when they don't need to are scared.

I've been an ambulance twice. Once as a child with a suspected broken neck, I was fine. Second fell when heavily pregnant, head and face injury. Second time could definitely have got myself there if I'd rallied myself but I was dazed and scared and somewhere I didn't know very well. By the time I got my head together the ambulance was there (I didn't call it). They took me in and we're very kind about it.

I now volunteer as a first responder. I go out with a kit, on my own in my own time in my own car. I deal with cardiac arrests, falls, strokes breathing problems etc, all cat 1+2 calls. About 1/3 of the calls don't go to hospital. They are mostly older people who need a home visit from the GP. Sometimes people have eaten too much and faint and then think they're having a stroke (seen this twice). Everyone one of them is frightened. I'd never judge someone who was frightened.

Unless you feel the need to stay with them. My husband did when I went to a&e with a head injury as I felt sick and dizzy. Plenty of older people in particular there with someone. And you're likely to be there all night.

3 times when I have used 999:

1. DH called 999 for me when I fell down the stairs - I went to bed but couldn't move the next day at all. The paramedics did a lot of checks and suggested I go to A&E in 5 days if I didn't feel any better. I did, I had 3 cracked vertebrae & some damaged muscle.
2. I inhaled some noxious gas and then had a panic attack about it (I thought the panic attack was a reaction to the gas). They did loads of tests and added to my GP notes, no further action was needed.
3. I had chest pains and shortness of breath, an ambulance took me to A&E where I was triaged within 5 minutes (during Covid). Treatment was comprehensive and I was grateful for the speed of the reaction.

so 1&3 I probably did need an ambulance, 2 a mobile paramedic would have been enough. At-home responsive care is a good thing, and should be used more (though maybe not in case 1!!)

I needed an ambulance a couple of weeks ago because of breathing difficulties and No-one drives and there's no way I could afford a taxi to and from hospital and all public transport had ceased. In the end they sent a taxi which was cheaper than an ambulance

Nobody drives?? Is there a reason for that? Just curious really.

Did you miss the part where I said it's not a reason to call for an ambulance?

I was making a point that parking is ridiculously expensive and there will be some people who can't afford it 🙄

Thank you, I'm glad someone understood! I wasn't saying I would do it and I clearly didn't as I paid the £11 FFS!

I'm saying that if someone is ill and really doesn't have any money then they might just think about calling an ambulance.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

Just because people can't afford the parking still doesn't justify it!!

Of course there will be people that think this entitles them to dial 999, but people's money situation is not the ambulance service's problem!!!!!!!!

I work in ICU and we have a growing incidence of elderly patients who have been listening to the news and didn't want to bother the GP, waste anybodies time in A&E or feel it was proper to call an ambulance.

These are the people who worked hard and paid tax all their lives and its about time they started banging on a few doors and making themselves heard.

Honestly those people saying about parking not being a valid reason to call - if you read my previous post it definitely can be a valid reason. If I was in a situation similar to the one I was in before I would damn well call an ambulance for reasons of parking. I was with a young child (3yo) with breathing difficulties and THERE WAS NO WHERE TO PARK THE CAR AT ALL. I didn't care about getting a ticket (well I'd rather not obviously but it was the furthest thing from my mind at that point) but there was nowhere to leave the car. NOWHERE. I would have blocked ambulances and everything. And you can't just drop off a 3 year old and expect them to walk into A and E on their own especially when they're very unwell. It was fucking terrifying. He needed help, we were right there but I couldn't get him in.
Sure after driving around and around in tears I eventually found a space but fuck that. If it happened again I'd call a bloody ambulance and anyone who tells me otherwise can do one.

I watch Ambulance on BBC and think this for most of the cases, if you are not a "CAT 1" you might be waiting upwards of 4 hour, so why not get a lift if possible.

@EileenAdler It is so sad. My husband is like this. He doesn't want to be a bother. It is infuriating. He also grew up as part of a farming family so you don't go to the Dr unless your leg is hanging off.