General Chat

that's right rose ..they do say don't move them..

dawn we know you don't abuse the system... and you are disabled .. with your health i would have told them.. amy makes comments and doesnt who suffers what..

i do agree some peeps ring for a ambulance for a minor cut..but how can a ambulance man judge over the phone..

jgee

Dawnie - hope you are getting better. However I would say you probably had a more comfortable ride in the car than the ambulance. Only ride I had was 18 mths ago when gp sent me off in one from surgery. In spite of being in a lot of pain all I was aware of - was of every pothole and bump on the way! Had assumed ambulances were well sprung before for patient comfort! As others have said - ignore Miss Sweetness and Light.

There is some useful info on this site as to when you should call an ambulance

http://www.ehow.com/how_2173045_call-ambulance.html

Dawnie, I expect someone drank it to get over the shock lol

but seriously it IS a shock both for the injured and those who are around at the time.

It's a hard call for the paramedics to judge who needs an ambulance and who can make it under their own steam, and also depends on age and history...a fall for a healthy person may be minor , the same fall for a person with osteoporosis for example may be a different matter altogether.

The times I have to take Sasha to hospital ( Which is very often ) its quicker for me to take her in the car,( We,re about 9miles away ) by the time an ambulance has got here She,s in A&E. **M**. Oh and Amy. I told you once what to do with your Stupid Comments.So I repeat it.incase you didnt understand. "Go Forth And Multiply" **M**.

I,ve read some of your comments ..and agree with a lot of what you are saying .....

A close family friend is a paramedic and has been called to so much C**P its unreal
One person called coz they had an appointment coz they had tooth ache and couldnt park their car very easily at the hospital !!!!
one called coz their child had sickness and was dizzy this had gone on for half an hour!!!!

when will it stop when will people realise ITS FOR EMERGENCYS....
My hubby had a heart attack last May and from footie pitch to operating theatre it was less than 20 mins ...lucky us if it hadnt been that quick he would be dead!!!

So when do we call and ambulance .....theres a good question ...???

Paramedics are often better informed than doctors as I,ve seen doctors remove non return valves on hickman lines but the paramedic knew how to use it !!!!!

Some interesting comments and points of view coming out on this subject. I have used an taxi to take one of my children to hospital with a broken arm. I was dropped directly outside the A&E department and no parking problems. Frank 06 - no taxi driver is going to risk moving you or be expected to heave you down the stairs it's all about applying your own common sense.

Everyone just needs to make their own assesment and really needs to think whether calling an ambulance is more for convenience or a bit of a panicked reaction at the time rather than an absolute emergency.

I sympathise Dawnie, it must have been very upsetting for all the family.

I know that some people abuse the system (as Kempin athermalhat has said) I just wish that the abusers could be charged with something and fined.

I have not called an ambulence myself, but the police called one after I had been mugged (they didn't like the look of the big lump on my head).
Twice when my son was little and in a very bad way with asthma in the middle of the night, I called the emergency number for my G.P (You could do that in the 1970's) Both times after seeing my son, the Dr phoned an ambulance and my son was admitted to hospita;

I find it strange that non-medical people can be asked to make a medical judgement. especially after something like a fall or a bang on the head.

I hope that no-one will suffer badly because of this "new way" of doing things.

I don't know how I would get myself to hospital if this had happened to me. A very scary thought.

Tess

Tess, I imagine that if you said there was no way you could get to hospital they would send an ambulance. However, if you said it was not life threatening you might have to wait a bit longer. So if you don't know if it is life threatening, and mostly we have some sort of idea, say so. I think people on these boards are intelligent enough not to call an ambulance for a trivial reason.

I rang an ambulance last year in all that snow to get my x hubby from his home they said they would come but we may have to wait as they needed to get mountain rescue to us as we couldnt get cars to his house ....coz he lives in the country.

The fact that he couldnt walk wasnt the issue it was what the tumor was doing to his spine I didnt want to move him without help

I still believe myself ....If you can get to them it may save someones life .

I,ve also been told NHS dirct was a waste of goverment money its made so many mistakes ..so I wont call them again

I have an urge to wring a neck!!!

Chris not worth your energy.

Chris, some people think they are being clever. But they are not. They are only showing themselves up, to be what they really are.
Julia in Derbyshire

True Oh Wise Ones, but I still have the urge!

Wouldn't it be better to leave the personalities out and stick to the topic?

As I have said the NHS direct or 24 are useless....

I rang and said my daughter had swollen up head to toe and they said they would ring me back .........I waited 3 hours for that call ...

In the mean while I had called the GP service and they said take her to hospital ....Yes she was allergic to nuts she had eaten the night before ..she was 10

Frank06 - I'm not disagreeing with you - you assessed the situation and made the right call for you. Kidney stones are extremely painful and any movement is agony.

NHS24 is a complete waste of time and I would prefer to call the out of hours dr for advice.

I still think if everyone stuck to the topic and ignored any personalities the boards would get on better.

I don't post that much because I don't want to get caught up in the 'them' and 'us' groups.

Elizabeth
havent been on much for months just fleeting visits so up to now havent seen anything she has put up, just seems lie the same old stuff happening again.

the para medic asks questions for a reason and if you make them aware of all your circumstances i e live on your own got no money for cab then all of these would be taken into consideration they dont just abandon you for nothing they are highly trained if you feel you not been treated fairly you should ask why you wasnt entitled to an ambulance always ask why a bit of knowledge goes a long way