An ill cat, dandruff and someone who wanted medics to do their shopping are among a list of calls Nottinghamshire’s ambulance service received in March.
East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) released the details as part of a plea to the public about misuse of the 999 emergency number.
The service’s call handling centre in Eastwood deals with around 2,000 999 calls a day from across the region, and took 66,621 in March.
And 6,450 of these – almost 10 per cent – were classed as ‘unknown’ calls, made by people who were not near the patient and can’t say what is wrong with a person.
Video: EMAS released this recording of two recent calls – one for a cat and one for a genuine emergency where a child called to report their mother was unconscious – to highlight the need for people to only use 999 for genuine reasons.
EMAS says these are typically from people reporting “something they think they have seen” and are effectively wasting the time of call handlers who could be dealing with real emergencies.
The service released a recording of one recent call in which someone reported a medical problem with a cat, as it launched a campaign to encourage people to avoid using the service for non-emergencies.
999 what’s your non-emergency: Ten call subjects EMAS dealt with in March 2017
A dead cat
Dandruff
Wants us to go shopping for her
Took dressing off blister on foot and now hurts to walk
Man called to say bitten by dog – but the incident was two months ago
Angry man kicked out of a club and has no money to get home as he spent all his money on night out
Bitten by hamster– Minor injury and plaster needed.
Sore on nose and waiting for GP to call back
Waiting in A&E for 1.5 hours so called 999
Man called for ambulance for his cat
“Sadly, some of the 999 calls are not for emergency situations and when one of our call handlers is on the phone to these inappropriate calls, they are not able to help someone in a real emergency,” said EMAS in a statement.
“This month, inappropriate calls have included a man who was kicked out of a club after a night out but had no money to get home, and someone who had been waiting in A&E for an hour and a half and called 999 rather than speak to the hospital reception.”
Staff are live tweeting from the EMAS call handling centre from 2pm on Friday, April 7, to document the types of calls regularly received.
Simon Tomlinson, emergency operations centre manager for EMAS, said: “When you call 999 because someone is unconscious, not breathing, having chest pains or has the symptoms of a stroke, you are making the right call.
“Our emergency call handlers are trained to deliver life-saving instructions over the phone and we will get help to you as quickly as possible.”
“Every 999 call is assessed so that the right help is provided to the right people, so you could receive the right treatment for you more quickly by contacting an alternative NHS service particularly if your call is not a serious emergency.”
