Air ambulance ghouls

[PostItInABook]

The air ambulance has just landed in the field between our and another estate and about 5 people in the street have rushed from their houses with their kids to go and gawp at it.

Why don’t these people stop and think for a minute…….that someone in our community is seriously / critically injured or unwell…….and going to gawp is really inconsiderate, invasive and insensitive.

If you want your kids to learn about air ambulances or emergency vehicles / services then go and visit one of the many emergency services days that are put on regularly or attend an air ambulance charity function or ask the school to request a school visit. Don’t take them to watch someone in your community in their hour of need as if it was some sort of children’s entertainment. It’s gross behaviour.

Thank you. We've tried to avoid the rabbit hole of social media but this has obviously done the rounds, particularly with the young friends who were with him on the day.

When our house burnt down it had an audience. Literally a ring of people on the road watching. And then it was all over Instagram☹️

This . A helicopter landing is a very unusual event in our village but when it has the crew are usually standing around waiting to see if they will be needed. They enjoy answering questions about the helicopter and if it encourages a few more people to make donations to the air ambulance and increase awareness then it really is a good thing 🤷‍♀️

@madamehooch @NeverDropYourMooncup I’m so sorry for your losses and the fact your loss was made more difficult. I cannot even begin ti understand people that do this.

I surprised at people here still trying to justify why they deserve to intrude on other people in this way. Ffs it’s not a village fete where your kids can sit in a fire engine and turn the lights on. It’s not entertainment for the kids because they’re curious. A far more worthwhile lesson for them would be one in giving people some dignity at what is clearly, at best, a shit day or, at worst, losing their life.

We had one about a month ago- it was circling the land next door- however, there's quite an old electricity box (thing) with a fairly low cable across the site; I ran out to gesticulate that there was a empty field about 100 yards away- as soon as they saw me waving and pointing they went back up and landed there.

Of course, I'm sure they would have seen the cable as soon as they got low enough but it was dusk. However, having never been that close to a landing helicopter, I was amazing by the down draft; my OH said our windows were rattling and the noise was so loud. So I'm not surprised people come out of their houses to see what was going on. However, I certainly wouldn't have walked up to the field to see someone being loaded in.

<muses wonderingly whether all those posters on the nicola bully threads are commenting on here>

You got a good look then 😂

Yeah I agree op, I think it's poor taste and they should be given room to do their job in peace. Some of the posts on here are very sad, I would hate for my loved ones last moments to be on social media.

actually rubber necking does specifically count as looking out of the window, it usually refers to drivers who divert their attention from the road to look out the side window to see something not directly effecting their pathway.

You didn't 'look' briefly, you looked specifically and intently looked to see the helicopter and to identify the group of helicopters it belonged to as per your own admittance.

You then rushed online to gossip about how awful other people doing the same thing are.

Yeah the irony of all these posters... Can you believe these people looked? when I looked I saw x,y,z looking how dare they.

We have a house at the back of ours with a big bit of land. They have a long driveway running down to the house with gates. Air ambulance landed on their land last year... que all the nosey neighbours running down the driveway and thinking they had every right to enter onto the property seen as the gates had been opened to allow the air ambulance medics access out once landed 🤦🏻‍♀️

Actually no I didn't.

I looked the other way as I hate seeing such things. I myself have been rushed into an ambulance and felt extremely uncomfortable about my neighbours looking over as they had obviously heard the sirens approach / seen the paramedics at the end of my garden.

The scene was described to me by a passenger in the back.

Didn't make an ounce of difference to my treatment if they snapped a photo of a toddler by an ambulance.

Please tell me you're being sarcastic - I cannot imagine the thought process of somebody allowing their toddler to go up to the 'nee-naw', knowing that somebody may be undergoing live-saving treatment within. There is a time and a place.

Anyway, re: air ambulances: I ride, and equestrians tend to be big fans (and users) of the air ambulance system, which can be a life-saver in rural or remote areas. I personally donate to our local service regularly (as a kind of insurance, I guess).

I remember once seeing somebody on our local FB mentioning the AA going overhead and 'hoping everything was okay', to which another poster marvellously replied 'there is no such thing as 'the everything's okay' air ambulance' - 100%, nobody uses the service because they've broken a nail.

It will inevitably be serious, so just shut up and hope silently on behalf of the user.

As you were then YRL.

I don't like seeing people in distress either. Besides, you should hear the language I aim at the drivers ahead of me as they crawl past to get a good old eyefull of someone else's trauma - I assiduously don't look because then I'd be an utter one like they are 🤬

(this poster fully understands that it's impossible to distinguish between those greedily rubbernecking and those who aren't but are also delayed by those who are)

You looked the other way yet knew exactly what was happening then came online and discribed it in detail... pull the other one love.

Last crash I saw I knew the grant total that 3 cars where involved, couldn't even say who hit who let alone any injuries and we ended up sitting next to it for ages due to the road closure.

Time before that it was a motor bike (only known because it was smashed in the road and we where being diverted around it), no idea what happened or the injuries.

Time before that 2 cars on a motor way once again ZERO clue if anyone was hurt.

Time before that I was a passenger and did look, looked like a fatality as they where screening it off and now theres a roadside memorial... still wouldn't be posting online that I saw paramedics doing CPR thinking thats ok.

You not only saw the crash but described the bloody injuries and treatment of the victim, you can not do that without having a good old gawp.

I was in a major car accident as a young child, people stood on the side of the road and stared. I had to climb out of the wreckage and go to them because no one bothered to help. All got a bloody good look with the faux sympathy and gossip from our families tragedy though.

Just like people creating these threads on mumsnet say isn't it awful these people gawp I watched this poor man having CPR and others where looking at him.

YABU. An air ambulance flew past my window absolutely level with my eyeline and felt so close the windows rattled. It landed on a playing field two doors down. It had nothing written on it that told me it was an ambulance, just bright orange with some sort of stripe design. I walked out of my house to see what the heck it was. Most people have never seen an air ambulance land before and the majority aren't gawping at the casualty, they're wondering why the heck a big helicopter has landed at the end of their street. Once it became clear they were paramedics I went back inside. It's a very strange and unusual event for most people.

You shouldn’t have looked

I've been involved in air ambulance and mountain rescue evacuations when climbing and lots of people who are there just come to watch rather than help. Natural human curiosity imo.

Filming is off key though