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

[fillmeup]

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.

Depends. We called 999 for DH who had fallen and was immobile, lying face down and semi-conscious, in pain. No way could I have lifted or carried him into a taxi.

On the other hand, 111 insisted on sending an ambulance to me when I phoned them. Even when I said I was perfectly capable of getting a bus to hospital if they thought I should go in. No, they had to send an ambulance.

The amount of people I speak to who, when asked 'is there anyway you can make your way to hospital' reply with yes which begs the question why call 999 in the first place

is it always 999? We were offered an ambulance for my son (pre-pandemic) following an assessment over the phone on 111. They told me there was an hour’s wait so I took him myself because I knew I could be there in 20 minutes. I didn’t ask for transport - I was told he needed urgent medical care which is what you get with an ambulance.

Yi ou can’t call an ambulance because you can’t afford the car park or you don’t know where to park!

this is one of the reasons it’s failing.

Not being able to afford parking isn’t a reason to call 999.

Definitely! My dad was one for many years and some of the calls they got were an absolute joke!

YANBU and obviously depends on the situation. I had a colleague who recounted her tale of an ambulance taking her to hospital the evening before for a very minor ailment. She insisted on it because her DH couldn't drive her because they have young DC. They are absolutely loaded financially. Taxi or asking neighbour didn't cross her mind. They made her make her own way home.
A family member who's a paramedic told me that as well as ridiculous call outs, sometimes the caller doesn't answer the door - in one example caller felt better and went to bed. Didn't cancel ambulance. They found this out after police gained entry due to concerns about the person not answering door or her phone!
People can be selfish and don't see the connection that they're taking a limited resource from those in genuine need.

You can’t drive yourself if you are ill enough to need an ambulance. Not everyone has someone conveniently on hand to help when they’re ill.

When I took my dreadfully ill son in, I parked in a 20 minute spot in front of A&E. I was on my own. My son was desperately ill (stayed in for 10 days). When I realised it was still there 6 hours later, the nurses asked me the registration and sorted it. Don’t know what they did but I never had to pay anything and was never fined. I can’t imagine a hospital will impound your car if you are struggling to pay parking fees.

You don’t need to park if you are dropping someone off.

Sheesh.

My son recently had croup and woke up
in the night struggling to breathe. We live about a 7 minute drive from the hospital so I drove him there myself.

When I got there they reprimanded me for not phoning an ambulance.

I live abroad and I find threads like this really sad. The UK should have a functional working ambulance service. It’s not the people’s fault that things are so bad. The government needs to step up and take responsibility. I really worry about my elderly parents living in the UK. This situation is not acceptable.

I’m just under 2 miles from my hospital . An Uber will arrive at my door within 2 minutes ! Geez, my local bus that goes right by my house can get me to the hospital in ten minutes 😆 ( done it before actually but it wasn’t an emergency).

Yep, it’s like people think of ambulances as magic taxis. If you are at home with a relative who can drive you straight to a&e why wait on an ambulance? Makes no sense to me. Once I heard my neighbour screaming on the phone at 999 asking for them to hurry up (ambulance people were telling her they would be 45 min to an hour- I heard her screaming this at her son). The hospital is 7 min in the car so someone took her. Problem solved and ambulance free for someone who needs help

111 seem to have quite a low threshold for saying an ambulance is needed.

I think we have also forgotten how to rely on other people. A few decades ago I think it would have been normal to ask a neighbour for help (or to use their phone or to look after the kids in an emergency) but now we live such separate lives. Asking your neighbour to drive you to a & e would probably get you called a cheeky fucker on mn. Not everyone has their car/money to park etc but not everyone has to, maybe we just need to work together a bit more.

We called for an ambulance and they said it was on its way, then we got a call cancelling it. My ds (14) had sliced his foot open on a rock in a river . The car park was over a mile away and we had no idea how to carry him there. There was a small crowd gathered round helping us and everyone was appalled at them cancelling the ambulance. My dh ended up having to ignore all the road signs and drive onto the riverbank. I suppose the fact we found a way suggests we didn’t need an ambulance but it was pretty brutal to do it. I don’t know how some people can convince the call handlers they need one.

I've called a ambulance twice

First time I went into Labour in middle of the night alone, called ambulance but had baby 2 minutes later on bathroom floor by myself. Ambulance arrived a couple minutes later and took me and baby to hospital. I doubt I could of driven I was in shock plus would have had no idea what to do about cord etc.

2nd time my 12 month old baby flipped off sofa, screamed then went unconscious and floppy, I thought he had broken his neck . Called ambulance who arrived reasonably quickly to find him happily playing - turned out he was a breath holder but it was something I'd never heard of or witnessed before. That's was rather embarrassing but they still insisted he went to hospital to be checked over. Of course though we was fine and it happened a good few times after this and luckily I was prepared for it.

Ambulances aren't there for people who can't afford parking, or don't know where they will park 🙈

I didn't realise until reading this thread (and then googling) that you had to pay to park in hospitals in England. That's a bit shit. Obviously still shouldn't stop you doing it.
Google also revealed that the average ambulance trip in the US costs approx $1500, but after insurance people pay on average $450. Presuming ambulances in the UK cost a similar amount per journey (which when you take into account buying and fitting the ambulance, wages of at least 2 paramedics, all the equipment, petrol, insurance, medication etc. can't be that far off), it's another reason to encourage people to make their own way if they can (in bold because at least 1 poster has willfully misunderstood already on the thread despite OP being clear).

The amount of people I speak to who, when asked 'is there anyway you can make your way to hospital' reply with yes which begs the question why call 999 in the first place

They're likely really scared. Not saying that makes an ambulance appropriate but surely we can at least empathise.

That’s not true DH called an ambulance for me once when I was in agony with abdominal pain. They said sorry you’ll need to make your own way and then hung up.

honestly don’t know how I would react in a life threatening emergency I hadn’t experienced it. panic mode my instinct might be call 999 and stay put.

in areas of deprivation money very much is an issue- you likely don’t run a car or have money for a taxi. Quite unlikely your neighbours will either. As I said not thinking straight if you have a car but barely coping financially just a stray thought of a £60 or £100 fine for illegal parking may put you off. Maybe it should not deter you or is objectively unreasonable but I expect it plays a part.

if the emergency was for me it would most likely be a nosebleed. So far I’ve been incredibly lucky to be with family members who can drive. I’m not sure a cab would pick me up. And I know it sounds crazy but I’m sure that even something life threatening would make me zcontact a neighbour (my autism) and when I’d cover their in blood if they did help. (I keep a close eye and travel early even I stay just in the hospital grounds with rolls of tissue.

'Reprimanded' you? You're not in the army!!

It's your choice how you get your child to hospital ffs.

I called 111 when my daughter hurt her arm. It turned out to be broken but it wasn't obvious under her hoodie at the time. I was advised to take her to A&E and was offered an ambulance proactively by the call handler (I declined as we have a car)

A few years ago I knew someone who called an ambulance because she stumbled on the bottom step. That's it. Nothing wrong with her, but she said "my ankle felt funny". She thought this was totally valid.

In that case you’re not able to drive, the OP is talking about situations where there is the option of being driven by someone and choosing to wait for an ambulance instead.

I agree OP, there was someone on the radio yesterday saying they’d waited hours for someone with a suspected heart attack and then decided to drive. I mean I completely understand ringing for an ambulance in that circumstance it’s the right thing to do but if one hadn’t arrived in a short while and I had the means to get the person into the car myself I wouldn’t sit waiting for so long.