Wibu to get an ambulance ?

[riversflows]

i live on my own, no family within a few hundred miles. I fell earlier and twisted my leg which has swollen up and I can’t put weight on it.the phone advice line say see my gp today but what can they do ?
I think I would be unreasonable but idk I can’t get around my house to make food and I can’t do the stairs to get to the bathroom or bedroom.

Get a friend to take you or get a taxi. Ambulances are for people who might need lifesaving treatment on the ride in, might get rapidly worse if they don't get to hospital fast or cannot safely sit in a car - you are none of these.

People wasting ambulances:

anecdotal - I was there BTW with elderly mother with heart condition.

A couple came in (mid 20’s) both in an ambulance as they felt “sick” but hadn’t vomited. They called 999 and an ambulance was sent to their address - except they were in a holiday caravan so it went to their house in a different county…..
so they called for a second one

And no, we didn’t use an ambulance as we were advised it would take too long and it was essential to get DM there asap.

oh and the super sick non vomiters found time to continue to go out for cigarette breaks and sent out for a Mac D’s at breakfast.

not the only ones in that triage area either.

Hope you are ok OP

Do not go to A&E, your life is not at risk,BIG clue here

Not against you OP just pointing out that some people don’t think about it like you have x

let’s not even go there regarding the people in the waiting room 🤣 expect you’ll see them shortly and wonder wtaf. The really ill ones will be sitting quietly not fussing.

It's A&E the A literally stands for accident. She's had an accident and cannot bear weight. She probably needs an x-ray and therefore she needs to be in a hospital.

Blimey. When I fell and broke my leg, I very much knew it was broken (apart from the fact I was lying on my back where I’d fallen, my foot was pointing backwards). There’s no way I could have made it to a taxi or indeed the front door. Doubt a taxi would have taken me either. I was alone too - no one to drive me.

999 sent me an ambulance almost immediately. Think I waited 20 mins tops.

I know i had a cardiac arrest in one once. Which is why im big on dont waste ambulances as others can die because of it

Don’t be so stupid. A&E isn’t just for ‘risk to life’ treatment. Accident & Emergency, BIG clue here! The OP has had an accident, she’s perfectly reasonable to call a taxi and go to A&E for her injury to be assessed and x-rayed, as an emergency.

Get a taxi. Ask the taxi driver if they can get crutches or a wheelchair for you. They might be able to help you.

Minor injuries unit, not A&E.
Taxi not ambulance.

That's presuming she has a minor injury unit. Our nearest one closed years ago.

@MissPobjoysPonies WTAF!

Wrong!!!! Thry only want life threatening emergencies, threats to life and limb. Anything else should go to:
Minor Injuries
GP
Pharmacy
Treat at home

Look at the NHS info campaigns.

It's helpful to regard the need for an ambulance and access to A&E as two separate things. You don't have to be brought in by paramedics, on a trolley and festooned with tubes and wires to need A&E. I fell at home and broke my elbow not long before the first lockdown. I rang 111, who said A&E would want to see me as they have access to x-ray etc after hours, and to get a taxi in - no problem as we are about 5 minutes drive away. 111 gave me an appointment with Urgent Care, which allowed me the time to book a taxi, have a wash and tidy-up and make sure I had plenty of charge on my phone before going up to the hospital.

There would have been no point in waiting to see the GP as the surgery doesn't have an x-ray machine and would have only sent me to A&E or Urgent Care. But an ambulance would have been vastly OTT and I'd have had a very long wait.

How do you know the extent of the OP’s injury? Look at you trying to prevent someone by your words from seeking medical care. Let the medics at the A&E do their jobs in accessing the injury.

We don’t have a minor injuries that is 24 hrs. It is open three days a week.

Not everywhere has minor injuries. Where i live broken bones go through a&e

They don't have minor injuries everywhere and they have limited hours, it can take days or weeks to get a GP, bot sure what pharmacy can do in many cases. Obviously if it is treatable at home with an ice pack, but there are symptoms that are good to check out.

Same here, no minor injuries so anything not treated by a GP or a pharmacy goes to A&E.

I’m not wrong thanks. I work for the NHS in radiology so no, I don’t need to look at any ‘campaigns’!

You are not bleeding, not at risk of death... why do you need paramedics to take you? It's madness like this that caused a wait for an ambo took 2 hrs to get to us for a month old ds as no vehicles available as all in queue...

Is wasting ambulances really a thing? When I have watched the various programs about the emergency services, people are told by dispatchers that an ambulance will not be sent to them.
And sometimes paramedics can treat someone and not end up taking them to A&E. Has happened to me a few times. One time, they treated me, but said I had to make my own way to A&E. So I don't understand how anyone is getting a ride in an ambulance that they don't need.

Same but waited on the ground for 3.5hrs, was in hospital 4 months ...the idea of a taxi for that is ludicrous. Fractured tibia plateau (leg) lots of wannabe medics on here offering uniformed advice

You can suffer a cardiac arrest from a broken leg ...so its important to let qualified people assess injury and immobilise broken limbs for transport