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Original poster

Complaint to Ambulance or...

36 replies

user1482875653 · 27/12/2016 22:00

I had to phone for an ambulance for my next door neighbor due to her falling.

Waited over an hour; she was bleeding, semi-conscious and generally needing medical attention

The 999 Operator said to me you sound medical trained cos I used a couple of words and took her BP and HR and said okay bye the ambulance is on the way

OP posts:
dingdongmerrilyonhiiiiiiii · 27/12/2016 22:07

What would your complaint be? The ambulance will have taken that time because the service is utterly overloaded. The operator will have ended the call once they had the information they needed from you so that they were free to answer another call.

missyB1 · 27/12/2016 22:14

yes the paramedics are horribly overstretched BUT definitely complain because that helps highlight the problems. Just saying nothing to be polite doesn't really help anyone, certainly not the paramedics.

I recently found a pizza delivery guy who had crashed his motorbike and was badly concussed and bleeding from his head injury. Couldn't get an ambulance at all, apparently there wasn't one available in the whole County. The police took the poor guy to hospital.
It's scary Sad

honeysucklejasmine · 27/12/2016 22:17

Complain saying what? Their own data will already indicate the response time, if that's your problem.

MrsMulder · 27/12/2016 22:23

I work closely with paramedics they, along with the rest of the NHS are ridiculously overstretched. Complain if you want to but I doubt it will change anything. There is no room in a&e departments so they take a patient there and are stuck there until they can hand over to hospital staff, they have no staff so that doesn't happen and you have ambulances off the road for hours. There are no beds in the hospitals so a&e are full and I just can't see how it will change with this government and with people's over dependence on a&e. For what it's worth I think it's disgusting that your neighbour had to wait that long and I am sure that the paramedics are too, I just don't think that complaining to the ambulance service will do anything except make them feel worse. I would try your local mp as a start

missyB1 · 27/12/2016 22:25

Right so nobody should ever complain about anything to do with any aspect of healthcare then honeysuckle? Because actually the data will have been recorded anyway?!
I worked for the NHS for 25 years which is how I know complaints are sometimes welcome and even necessary.
Patients going to local press was often very helpful too.

DailyMailDontStealMyThread · 27/12/2016 22:30

What is your complaint? Is it the hour wait or the lack of help from the call taker?

Original poster
user1482875653 · 27/12/2016 22:33

The lack of help and the response time surely its not right to assume someone is medically trained and they should stay on the phone until help gets there?

OP posts:
PolarEspresso · 27/12/2016 22:36

Complain to your MP about lack of NHS funding.

honeysucklejasmine · 27/12/2016 22:37

Don't be ridiculous missy. That is not what I said.

All OP said that is possibly objectionable is that the ambulance took a while to arrive. I do think complaining to PALS or whatever would be pointless, as MrsMulder said.

If the paramedic had arrived late the told OP to go fuck herself, or you know, done something wrong, then sure, complain away. Hmm But that's not what happened, is it.

TheFairyCaravan · 27/12/2016 22:37

Don't complain to the ambulance staff write to your MP instead.

The response time was as it quick as it could possibly be. They can't magic ambulances and paramedics out of the sky, there was more urgent cases in front of your neighbour so she had to wait unfortunately.

The Tories have stripped all aspects of the NHS to the bone,.including the ambulance service, and now this is the reality of it.

honeysucklejasmine · 27/12/2016 22:38

User I am sure they would have stayed on the phone is you had asked and they were able to. But the last thing they need to do is have the line busy when the next call comes in. Speak to your MP about NHS funding.

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 22:39

They were probably making conversation and trying to ascertain if you were a HCP
Response times are like this now, we an inundated with calls, 4000 in 24hrs would be an average day
You can complain, they will look into it and likely tell you that at the time it was busy, they are overstretched and apologise for the delay

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 22:39

And yes, we wouldn't stay on the line if it was that long the chances are there would be maybe 20 calls waiting to be answered

PossumInAPearTree · 27/12/2016 22:43

So you would have wanted them to stay on the phone for the whole hour until an ambulance arrived? I'm sure you could have rung back if things had got worse and normally they have a script to follow and should tell you that? Did they?

ColletteMc · 27/12/2016 22:47

I just can't comprehend that the system is not set up to allow for quick response times

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 22:51

It is - if someone is unconscious, having a heart attack etc etc
But if there are 3 ambulances in the area, and 4 calls all needing an 8 min response then one won't get that response. They would have to wait for a crew from another area or one to clear from a job
When I started we were nowhere near as busy as we are now, the demand is going up and up and up and there simply aren't the resources

Say someone has fallen as the OP said. An ambulance gets allocated then a higher category call comes in so they are diverted. Repeat X 5 for each different ambulance. That's how it gets to an hour

DancingDragon · 27/12/2016 22:53

They're so stretched though aren't they. If you are going to complain, I'd make it about the lack of funding for an over stretched service. Not complain about the operator who is doing her best to juggle the needs of many at any one time.

louise987 · 27/12/2016 22:54

They know the response times from the control room systems, you don't need to tell them it took them a long time to get there, they know how long it took (against how long it should have taken).

I understand the frustration and upset but personally unless there is a systematic issue you are highlighting I don't see why you want to complain. It's a tough job, a overstretched service and free at the point of delivery, and it probably always will be.

MrsMulder · 27/12/2016 22:56

hollin I am in ed and our attendance in the last 2 years has gone up 25% we just can't cope with it. Add to that a lack of junior doctors which will only get worse thanks to Hunt.

Iceiceice · 27/12/2016 22:58

Go to your MP. This problem is caused by the government. The paramedics would love to get to everyone in seconds and if they could they would.

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 22:58

I'm not entirely sure what will happen eventually Sad
Christmas Day was horrendously busy, mostly at night with between 10-25 calls waiting to be answered

MrsLouisTomlinson · 27/12/2016 22:59

I'm sure I saw on that 999 what's your emergency or the LAS programme that sometimes the call handlers essentially have to switch to 'red alert' where they take calls, log them, dispatch and then move straight on due to the sheer volume of incoming calls, protocol dictates that once info has been ascertained the call is terminated to allow for the next one.

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 23:00

Yes, in that state they won't give any instructions. Technically it's meant to include no CPR etc but in practice most people will give it

MrsMulder · 27/12/2016 23:09

We were very busy Christmas night too, not too bad in the day. I must admit though, 111 are a cause of many an unnecessary ambulance round here.

hollinhurst84 · 27/12/2016 23:10

Very true, I know they are often retriaged here after the 111 call is passed through
A lot of people don't seem to know that you can say no to an ambulance if 111 advise it and they can put you through to a clinician instead