Some of our callers really do have some cheek. The other day, we had one of those more-calls-than-ambulances situations building up on our dispatch desk, so I set about calling back all the rubbish calls to see if I could coax them into deciding to take a more appropriate course of action. We are not allowed to say “what a load of rubbish, make your own way/call a doctor/go back to bed”, of course, but sometimes hearing that all the ambulances are out dealing with life threatening emergencies spurs people in action.
The first call I rang back was a Maternataxi, some woman who just started to go into labour and whose boyfriend had made the phone call.
“I’m afraid all the ambulances are out dealing with life threatening emergencies,” I said. “Has there been any changes? Oh, you’ve had two contractions now? Is your boyfriend able to drive you to the hospital?”
“Er, yes…” said the woman.
“Great!” I said. “We’ll cancel the ambulance, just call us back if there are any problems and you decide you do need us after all.”
So what do you think they did next. Get in the car and drive to the hospital? No, they called the police complaining vociferously that we weren’t rushing round to them and demanding that the police tell us to send straight away! Needless to say, the police just sent the message back to us, the call went straight back to the bottom of the queue (since the original had been cancelled and the time of origin was now the time the police called us). I rang back the boyfriend and gave him a lecture about wasting police time.
Their cheek, however, was dwarfed by a caller I had the next night whilst call taking.
“What’s the problem?” I asked.
“I called you earlier!” said an angry sounding man. “It’s Mr Bloggs! From 14 Gravida House, Bile Street, E20!” He sounded very angry that I didn’t know who he was. I looked up the original call. It was to a 20-year-old lady — the caller’s girlfriend — 6 weeks pregnant, vomiting. It had been through TAS, who had decreed this was a bit of garden-variety morning sickness and that we were not to send. TAS had given homecare advice, and told the caller that if they really wanted to go to hospital, they should make their own way. I repeated this back to the caller, to make sure he’d understood TAS man properly and see why he was calling back.
“Yes!” he said. “We are at the hospital!”
“Erm,” I said, confused. “So why are you calling 999?”
“Because they say we have to wait to be seen! And she is womiting! You must tell them to see us straight away!”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” I said (not adding that even if I could, I wouldn’t be doing anything of the sort). “There are always long waits in hospital, you will just have to wait with everyone else. If you have any problems, speak to the hospital staff!”
The man continued ranting and saying that TAS man had assured him that he would be seen immediately (which I am sure is a lie!) and that it was disgusting and didn’t I know that his girlfriend was WOMITING? We are not usually allowed to hang up on callers, but if they are ringing from an A+E department we can make an exception, so I took great pleasure in telling him: “Sir, I have four calls waiting to be answered, and these people could be dying, so I am going to have to terminate this call. Goodbye!”
January 11th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
The cheek of some people….that is absolutely rediculous…why do people have this image in their head that they will get rushed through to the front of the queue just because an ambulance brings them in?? I BLAME TV!!! I hope your treasured the pleasure of cutting him off in his prime!!
January 11th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
I think that some of our GPs take great delight in ordering an ambulance for a patient ignoring the families offers of using their own cars.
What has happened to common sense?
“God grant me patience, but I want mine now!”
January 11th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
This, from an on the road pint of view, is going to be the subject of a blog. I’ve been saving a couple up.
Your right though. People are absolute cocks at times and do think that arriving by ambulance will jump the que for them. If only they knew the quiet words that go into the nurses ears.
January 11th, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Blimey, these tales should be on the TV. Can’t they include these accounts in a soap or something? That’ll work, people take notice of soaps.
January 11th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
These people didn’t even arrive by ambulance - we refused to send! They made their own way to the A+E then rang us from there complaining that they weren’t seen immediately…
January 11th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Oh dear, I am having a James Heriot moment.
(”Is he vomiting?” — “Phwat?” — “IS HE VOMITING?” — “Aye, he’s womiting bad, sorr.”)
I have often noted that had he been born fifty years later James Heriot would have been writing “UP A COW’S BUM: the blog of an overworked vet’rinry”.
January 11th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
If only we had to attend 75% of ‘actual real jobs, not drunk person lying on pavement therefore must be unconcsious’, in eight minutes - how fab would that be?
Nicenurse
January 11th, 2007 at 11:20 pm
There is nothing stranger than folk. My general opinion is how dare they, how very dare they, take this stance. I can only believe it is as a result of in-breeding; at whatever social spectrum - normally the extreams. Smaller brains, you see.
I dont always agree with control, sorry neenaww, but I could never do your job. I respect you all for it and know that whatever can be done to avoid these calls is.
I don’t know how you cope.
January 12th, 2007 at 2:27 am
I too used to take great pleasure in very solicitously taking the ambulance and pt history from an “ambulance to impress” A&E arrival and, where there was absolutely no priority illness or injury, then escort them to the waiting area to rejoin their relative to give their details at the desk and wait their turn.
The look of outrage and disbelief on their faces that they were being made to wait after having been “whipped” to hospital did in some way go towards ameliorating my anger at their arrogance and lack of respect shown by abusing the blue light taxi service.
Lucy
January 12th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Haha, one of my funniest hospital experiences at the moment, was when I broke/crushed my finger in the hinges of a swinging door(and, no. I didn’t go by ambulance). While I was waiting in the waiting area, like you do, an ambulance pulled up outside. An extremely drunk girl in evening wear got out, with her boyfriend and was made to walk in to reception and give her details. I did chuckle. She was so angry.
However, she did end up being told to go home after being looked at. It was only me, a nurse, a doctor and this drunk girl being er…drunk (Very quiet?!) round there. And all of us, without fail, ended up laughing at her obscene language and outrage “I’m not drunk”.
As we were waiting for a taxi by reception, the ambulance staff who had brough her in were chatting to the receptionist, or some other kind of important business and we all watched her stagger out, swearing. And i could not make eye contact with anyone in the room, for fear of laughing at her and she noticing- she was a chav- and drunk. Not a good combination.
I love how people think they will get seen quicker if they go by ambulance. Its the look of outrage when it dawns on them that they will still have the 4 hour wait.
ha!
January 12th, 2007 at 3:21 pm
I’m confused by why so many people seem to think they need to call an emergency ambulance for a normal, early labour. I mean, I understand that going into labour must be a scary experience, especially if it’s your first pregnancy, and I’m sure I’ll be in a complete panic when it happens to me. But surely advice is given at some point, by doctor, midwife, at ante-natal classes,. about what to do when you start having contractions? (get someone to take you to the hospital, call your midwife for advice etc). I can only think that people do this because they are anxious and don’t know what else to do or who to call. Are they really not given clear advice about what to do?
January 12th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Also the call about morning sickness makes me wonder whether there is just a lack of awareness/education about what a normal pregnancy involves. Again I realise that nausea and vomiting in pregnancy can be severe (sometimes enough to need hospital treatment), and I’m sure it’s unpleasant and distressing, but it’s not generally an emergency, and surely it’s more appropriate to call your GP rather than an emergency ambulance? Maybe there should be more education about pregnancy and labour, what to expect and what to do in any of the common situations that arise. Or maybe there is education already and some people just feel entitled to special treatment?
January 12th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
At one of the local hospitals here in the US, people get fed up waiting at the ER. They’ll then go across the street and call for an ambulance. The ambulance shows up, takes them back across the street, deposits them back in the ER at the beginning of the line, and the patient then gets a bill for $1000 for calling an ambulance. Say what you will about it (and there’s plenty to say), a pay-as-you-go system does have its moments of poetic justice.
January 12th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
The one i find so interesting is the policy on terminating the calls. I work for the police. If there being abusive or wasting our time - snip - we don’t mess around. Especially when there are niners waiting to be answered.
January 12th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Labour and morning sickness: where I am (Berkshire) one is instructed to call the hospital first, and then they tell one what to do. I did it a few times, and was talked down from hysterics by a very patient woman once. I was never instructed to call an ambulance.
January 13th, 2007 at 5:04 am
The only 2 times iv called a big white taxi I was rushed straight in and treated, once even straight into resus! Granted, I had just been hit by a car at 30mph, spent 15mins lying on the cold road while the crew scooped me up (It turns out they didnt actually sell my phone, despite promising me they would) and the police got the cars parked in the middle of the road out of the way (You might have figured that if there was an accident some EMERGENCY (?) vehicles might be needed, no?)
I am correct in assuming that you should only call the ambu if its life threatening/very serious ? (a little cough = no, being severely scalded in a rare tea making accident = yes)
January 13th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
I had the reverse experience in September. I phoned NHS Direct over what I thought was a minor thing, and they said they wanted me to go to A&E and get checked over, and that they were sending an ambo for me. I actually had to say to them not to bother, because I was actually sitting in the back of my mate’s car! Why does NHS Direct not ask you if you’re able to get there by yourself? Sure, if I was about to die, yeah, an ambulance would be appropriate, but it was a tiny thing that didn’t even get me a day off work (much to my disappointment).
January 16th, 2007 at 12:18 am
i think peopel forget that seen ‘immediately’ in A+E is fulfilled ( harking back to the days of the ‘patient’s charter ‘ actually meaning something - if you have been assessed by a health professional within 15 minutes of booking in ….
April 25th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I am 6 months pregnant with my first, and we don’t have a car. I asked my midwife how I should get to hospital when the time came - was it acceptable to call an ambulance? She said “no”, but did not tell me what I should do instead. Of course, I had already thought about taking a cab, and I guess we will need to call around and check which companies are willing to do that (particularly if my waters haven’t broken before we need to go), and are 24 hours. So, even when I did ask for information on the subject I got none other than “you will have to make other arrangements”. Not particularly surprising then that there are some people who don’t ask and end up calling an ambulance because they haven’t thought about it.