Calling 999 is for emergencies – plea after inappropriate calls made to EEAST

A rat bite, a broken toe nail and a woman who wanted an escort home are just the latest ‘emergency’ calls received by the region’s ambulance service.

A rat bite, a broken toe nail and a woman who wanted an escort home are just the latest ‘emergency’ calls received by the region’s ambulance service.

New figures today reveal that the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) received 312 hoax calls between April and December last year, which diverted time away from genuine emergencies. This is in addition a number of other calls into the Emergency Operations Centres (EOC) where alternatives to an emergency ambulance would be more appropriate.

As part of the It’s Your Call campaign and EOC takeover week, the service are highlighting calls like these to make people think twice about calling 999:

A woman who needed an escort home to breastfeed. There was too much traffic.

A man who was bitten by a rat the day before. He was advised to go to his GP.

A man who had broken his toe nail.

Gary Morgan, Deputy Director of Service Delivery (EOC), said: “It is extremely disappointing that people continue to call 999 for inappropriate reasons as these 999 calls have the potential to divert attention away from real emergencies.

“We’d urge the public to remember that the ambulance service is for emergencies such as cardiac arrests, patients with chest pain and breathing difficulties, unconsciousness, strokes, trauma, choking and severe allergic reactions. Please consider the use of other services such as your local pharmacy, GP or by calling 111 if it isn’t an emergency”.

The Trust launched It’s Your Call campaign two years ago, which aims to inform people and educate others on how 999 calls are handled and prioritised so that in the event of a medical problem, they feel better equipped to know what to do. For more information, visit http://www.eastamb.nhs.uk/your-service/campaigns/its-your-call.htm

County breakdown of number of hoax calls to EEAST from April to December 2016

Bedfordshire – 43

Cambridgeshire – 72

Hertfordshire – 42

Essex – 74

Norfolk – 46

Suffolk – 35

* An extra 119 calls were received and these came from out of area

If you have any media enquiries, please email media@eastamb.nhs.uk