An old Ambulance post from 2013. I think only two of you have seen this one before.
Nonsensical emergencies
Many of the 999 calls received in Ambulance Control are not worthy of a response by an emergency ambulance. However, this is not the fault of the operators taking these calls necessarily, as the callers can be very good liars, or have the talent of making a little sound like rather a lot. This does not happen so much now, as protocols have changed dramatically; however, thirty years ago, things were very different. These are just some of the countless calls that I attended, that should never has passed through the system. Please remember, that however crazy it may seem, these are genuine calls.
The fingernail faint
One evening, we were called to a nearby flat, with the job given as; ‘male fainted and bleeding’. As we arrived, we were met by a very distressed young lady, who showed us upstairs to her room. Her boyfriend had come…
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beetleypete 
You can’t make this stuff up!
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Definitely not, Jennie. It had to be seen to be believed.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Indeed. The stories are really funny, except for the snotty woman whose husband threw up on you. I want to slap her. Best to you, Pete.
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If you had not gone , there would have been complaints. Reading about the untidiness and the obsession to collect made me wonder about their lives. Thank you for sharing.
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Their lives were strange indeed, but not at all unusual in Central London. Isolation, mental health problems undiagnosed, loneliness, just some of the causes.
Best wishes, Pete.
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You couldn’t make it up….but the tragedy is, time wasters are stopping people in urgent need being attended to…That said, algorithms have improved, generally. But I had a 111 call some years ago where the algorithm or the agent failed, but I knew, as an ex- health professional, that I was dehydrated, rang 999, and several hours later was discharged after receiving 1.5l of IV fluids
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In my experience, it has gone much too far the other way, Sue. Julie’s 96 year-old aunt in Mildenhall was left lying on the floor for 7 hours waiting for an ambulance earlier this year. She had a broken hip, and was in great pain. They said they were ‘too busy with emergencies’. If an old lady in pain with a fracture after a fall is not an emergency, I don’t know what is.
A neighbour opposite with chest pains caused by a heart attack was told to ring his GP. The GP immidiately phoned an ambulance, and it took 5 hours to come.
Best wishes, Pete.
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“an old lady in pain with a fracture after a fall is not an emergency, I don’t know what is.” Precisely
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Ah them wer’t days, I used to love going in the ambulances on escort duty from Hemel Hempstead to whichever London hospital we were off to, especially when blue-lighting. Then a nice drive back seeing the sights of London on the way, and a stop at the chippy before returning to the hospital! Happy days/nights! Thanks for the memories!
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We always used to try to look after the escort nurses on long trips, make sure they got a bit of a break before going back on the ward. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete
(Found your comment in Trash, no idea why.)
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Having watched a few ‘Ambulance’ episodes, I can well believe some of the stupid things idiots get up to, Pete.
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Some days, almost every single call was ‘rubbish’ like these, Chris.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I don’t watch any of those ‘Ambulance’ TV documentaries. The modern ambulance crews featured are far too ‘precious’ for my liking. (My wife watches them all though!)
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Happy to see you sharing some of these classic stories from the past…as we all grow our readership, it’s nice to introduce them to new people, plus give everyone else a chance to enjoy them again! I’ve probably re-shared my “skyscraper swimming pool” stories a half dozen times because I am a bit obsessed with them it seems!
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Those skyscaper pools are very popular on your blog, John. Worth introoducing to new readers.
Best wishes, Pete.
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