General Chat

If the call centre knows there are availability problems you may get a paramedic PDQ (as I did). Control had told him I had chest pains, which I didn't. I had fallen out of bed just over a week before and had been to minors but breathing got worse and I thought I had developed another PE hence 999.

He looked rather relieved to be honest.

I think in the area I live in, North Tyneside, we must be lucky.

Couple of weeks ago I had to ring the emergency ambulance service through the night for my OH. After an operation and back home, he had to be rushed back into hospital again and I have to say we only waited about 5-10 minutes for Paramedics to arrive. They were marvellous and I couldn't praise them enough.
Tonight on tv. there was a report from the Midlands ambulance service that sounds horrendous, with hundreds of folk ringing in an hour and really stretching the resources.

Same here in Yorkshire. D.I.L called for ambulance for her Father three times this weekend and ended up cancelling and taking him herself . She was asked the same questions each time she rang. Take dogs out of the room.
Take all children next door.
Has anyone been in contact with Ebola.
She understood why she was asked these things but told them each time she rang, that she had answered these questions and was told they still had to repeat them.

Tell me about it, we nearly lost youngest as you know (due to every ambulance in Cardiff picking up drunks who had injured themselves).

My last 999 call resulted in a paramedic waiting with me until they could get an ambulance diverted, can't remember how long but too long!

I agree with AnnC.
I live in North Wales, and without going into details here, I had my own case highlighted in the local press, following an official complaint.
There then followed a six months internal enquiry, followed by pages and pages of waffle.

It is not the fault of the crews or paramedics who do an excellent job.

It is entirely the fault of management - and under funding

Tec

Don't know what other regions are like but the service in Wales is dreadful - today my son's mother in law, aged 90 in February, had a nasty fall in our village - the ambulance was called and one and a half hours later it had not arrived - the hospital is about ten minutes away - in desperation she called my d-i-l who is a nurse working in a hospital five miles away - she was just finishing her shift and after calling my son to help she made her way to the village - her mother still lying on the pavement bruised and bleeding and freezing cold - dil rang the ambulance service and told them to forget it as she was taking her mother directly to A & E and that when she got there she wished to be treated as a priority - fortunately she was still in her scrubs so that helped
- what a disgraceful service