The Welsh Ambulance Service is reminding people not to call 999 unless it is a genuine emergency.
The service took 19,151 non-urgent calls in the last seven months with just 318 requiring an ambulance.
They included a woman who called 999 because her athlete’s foot infection had worsened, and a man who wanted dental work for two broken teeth.
Richard Lee, the trust’s head of clinical services, said: “Calls of this type put people’s lives at risk as the ambulance attending that patient is not available for a serious road accident, heart attack or stroke.”
The calls mentioned are obviously from idiotic persons or drunks, but I don’t believe that out of 19,151 calls to the 999 emergency number less than 1.7% were genuine calls that required an ambulance. This article is pure rubbish.
I think the key here is the wording “required an ambulance.” The likely situation is an ambulance was needed and would be helpful but instead the advice was to take the person straight to the A&E department in a car or taxi where they would be treated. We have all heard the horror stories about women in labour being denied an ambulance on to give a painful, dangerous birth in the back of a taxi, or even stories of people suffering heart attacks that they’re just out of breath so visit the GP if it continues.
That appears to what they are getting that but this relies on untrained members of the public making a clinical judgement. See Trefor’s comment below.
Not so many years ago, probably only six or seven, I remember Ambulances parked up, on the side of the Road, WAITING, for calls for assistance, In Caerphilly for instance an Ambulance could be seen parked up, off the Garden Centre Roundabout, every day. And, before the closure of the Caerphily Amulance Station, Amulances and crews would be based in that station “ready for the Call”.
The rot started to set in when Budgets were cut, and crews were not replaced when they left or retired, Ambulance Stations were closed down, and Ambulance Services `Centralised`, disproportionate amounts of money was spent, almost year on year, on `new` ambulances imported from abroad many of them dangerously inappropriate and not safely fit for purpose, disproportionate Salary increases were paid, and continues to be paid, to senior management, who, it is clear are not suitably qualified to run a public `emergency service` sucessfully.
One theme runs through this vital failing public provision, mismangement failure.
It is a scandel that Ambulance crews, as the public face of the service, are the ones who are seen to be failing, but, DESPITE this situation they are the one welcome constant as they continue to save lives whenever they are able, and whenever they are called upon to do so, and within the management failures they have to endure.
The calls mentioned are obviously from idiotic persons or drunks, but I don’t believe that out of 19,151 calls to the 999 emergency number less than 1.7% were genuine calls that required an ambulance. This article is pure rubbish.
I think the key here is the wording “required an ambulance.” The likely situation is an ambulance was needed and would be helpful but instead the advice was to take the person straight to the A&E department in a car or taxi where they would be treated. We have all heard the horror stories about women in labour being denied an ambulance on to give a painful, dangerous birth in the back of a taxi, or even stories of people suffering heart attacks that they’re just out of breath so visit the GP if it continues.
That appears to what they are getting that but this relies on untrained members of the public making a clinical judgement. See Trefor’s comment below.
Not so many years ago, probably only six or seven, I remember Ambulances parked up, on the side of the Road, WAITING, for calls for assistance, In Caerphilly for instance an Ambulance could be seen parked up, off the Garden Centre Roundabout, every day. And, before the closure of the Caerphily Amulance Station, Amulances and crews would be based in that station “ready for the Call”.
The rot started to set in when Budgets were cut, and crews were not replaced when they left or retired, Ambulance Stations were closed down, and Ambulance Services `Centralised`, disproportionate amounts of money was spent, almost year on year, on `new` ambulances imported from abroad many of them dangerously inappropriate and not safely fit for purpose, disproportionate Salary increases were paid, and continues to be paid, to senior management, who, it is clear are not suitably qualified to run a public `emergency service` sucessfully.
One theme runs through this vital failing public provision, mismangement failure.
It is a scandel that Ambulance crews, as the public face of the service, are the ones who are seen to be failing, but, DESPITE this situation they are the one welcome constant as they continue to save lives whenever they are able, and whenever they are called upon to do so, and within the management failures they have to endure.
Like most things in the public sector the Ambulance Service in Wales is being `Compressed` by both financial constraints, and, more significantly, by the lack of available Doctors appointments, at the time people want them with their GP service.One way to help to ease this situation would be to incease the availability of Practitioner Nurses and appointments in GP surgeries, lessening the perceived need to call an ambulance for help.If this happened, and local authorities got a grip of social care provision in peoples own homes, allowing quick release of older patients from hospitals to continue medical and social care in the community, the ambulance service would not be held up at hospitals as a result of `bed blocking` in A&E departments and would be free to do what it is desinged to do and give rapid assistance to emergency situations, saving lives on the streets, and providing rapid emergency care to critical situations in the home.
It is not rocket science, is logistical, and I dont know why highly paid Civil Servants in the Welsh Assembly, and, senior management within the Wales Ambulance Service have not had their heads knocked together by the responsible politicians?. It is easy to blame the public, But, the resolution rests with those paid to properly identify the reasons for this national disgraceful failure, and the `not my fault governor` attitude. They will be blaming the ambulance drivers next, god forbid!!!!.
A lot of what you say makes sense Trefor, I do not understand why the NHS is run in the way it is now. More importantly those who work for the NHS, who talk with me, do not understand either.
When I was much younger a minor wound was treated, including wounds requiring sutures, at the GPs surgery. Accident and Emergency, or Casualty as it was then called, saw to the more serious acute cases or injuries and illness during the night.
Politicians waffle on about people being seen in less than four hours. During several visits to the Casualty at the Miners Hospital I can’t recall waiting for anything like that time. About 20 minutes to half an hour was usual before a doctor would see the patient.
Like most things in the public sector the Ambulance Service in Wales is being `Compressed` by both financial constraints, and, more significantly, by the lack of available Doctors appointments, at the time people want them with their GP service.One way to help to ease this situation would be to incease the availability of Practitioner Nurses and appointments in GP surgeries, lessening the perceived need to call an ambulance for help.If this happened, and local authorities got a grip of social care provision in peoples own homes, allowing quick release of older patients from hospitals to continue medical and social care in the community, the ambulance service would not be held up at hospitals as a result of `bed blocking` in A&E departments and would be free to do what it is designed to do and give rapid assistance to emergency situations, saving lives on the streets, and providing rapid emergency care to critical situations in the home.
It is not rocket science, it is logistical, and I dont know why highly paid Civil Servants in the Welsh Assembly, and, senior management within the Wales Ambulance Service have not had their heads knocked together by the responsible politicians?. It is easy to blame the public, But, the resolution rests with those paid to properly identify the reasons for this national disgraceful failure, and rid us of this `not my fault governor` attitude. They will be blaming the ambulance drivers next, god forbid!!!!.
A lot of what you say makes sense Trefor, I do not understand why the NHS is run in the way it is now. More importantly those who work for the NHS, who talk with me, do not understand either.
When I was much younger a minor wound was treated, including wounds requiring sutures, at the GPs surgery. Accident and Emergency, or Casualty as it was then called, saw to the more serious acute cases or injuries and illness during the night.
Politicians waffle on about people being seen in less than four hours. During several visits to the Casualty at the Miners Hospital I can’t recall waiting for anything like that time. About 20 minutes to half an hour was usual before a doctor would see the patient.