Yesterday, Nee Naw Control took over 5000 calls. That’s 2000 more than an average day; as many as an average New Year’s Eve. Two things were to blame: 30° temperatures in London, and England’s first world cup football match (1-0 to us! Yay!) Both these things had people in the pubs in droves, merrily falling over, fighting and passing out well into the early hours. The delays for ambulances were not funny: after a while every call was someone ringing back to complain that the ambulance had not arrived yet. I did derive some pleasure from telling the maternataxis/toothaches/crying babies etc things like “Sorry, we’re extremely busy, and we have to give priority to genuine life threatening emergencies. You could be waiting some time, if not forever” but I hate, loathe and despise telling genuine callers that they are not getting an ambulance right now because they are all out dealing with silly football fans who can’t handle their beer. The people that were really suffering were the Assist Onlys - that is, old people who have fallen over, can’t get up, and need an ambulance to lift them and check them over. They aren’t a priority, because they aren’t seriously injured, but I just hate to think of old people languishing on the floor, alone, scared and helpless.
One irate relative, whose gran had been on the floor for two hours, lost his temper and started shouting at me. “I’m gonna be honest with you,” he said, “I think you should **** all those football ****wits and tell them, it’s your own fault you got into this mess, you can wait, people like my gran should come first. What kind of system places some idiot who’s drunk too many beers and fallen in a gutter and banged his head over a 90 year old lady who has been on the floor for two hours?”
I don’t normally tolerate being shouted at, but I had to concede this one had a point.
Fingers crossed I am not call taking again tonight as I am starting to lose my voice.
