Ambulance service confirms ‘eating too much kebab’ is not a valid reason to call
The Welsh Ambulance Service has warned against calling for inappropriate reasons after receiving 68,416 non life-or-death emergency calls last year.
In one call, a person said they had had ‘too much kebab’ and called over a ‘very painful stomach’.
Another caller said they had lost the bottom part of their denture and were worried they ‘could have swallowed their teeth’.
Andy Swinburn, executive director of paramedicine, told Sky: ‘Our plea to the public is to apply your common sense – most people know the difference between a real emergency and something that is uncomfortable, painful or irritating but not life-threatening.’
In one transcript of a call made to the ambulance service, a man reported his hand was stuck in a letterbox.
Operator: ‘Is the patient awake?’
Caller: ‘Yeah, it’s me, my hand’s stuck in the door.’
Operator: ‘Is the door locked at the moment?’
Caller: ‘Yeah, it’s locked. Mam! No, my hand’s stuck in the f*****g letterbox.’
Operator: ‘How old are you?’
Caller: ‘Open the door, my hand’s stuck!’
Data collected from Freedom of Information requests paints a dire picture of the pressures on the NHS.
Ambulance services across the UK have been overwhelmed in recent years – in April last year, it was revealed one patient waited 65 hours for an ambulance.
Meanwhile, some patients in the West Midlands and Yorkshire waited more than 21 hours after category 2 calls.
These calls, for which the target is 18 minutes, can include reports of heart attacks and strokes.
The longest wait for such a call in the East Midlands was more than 26 hours.
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