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Refused an ambulance

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could you not phone gp collaborative and take it from there, they would visit you in your home, and maybe get you an ambulance if they feel you require emergency treatment. You never actually said what the diagnosis actually was??

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So what you are saying if someone is having chest pains as long as they can still move they should get a taxi & just hope & pray they don't have a heart attack on route?

 

An ambulance isn't just a taxi, just because a person might manage some minor mobility does not mean they won't need urgent medical care on route something I don't believe the majority of taxi drivers are trained to do.

 

Hi

 

A friend of mine who had an history of heart problems was in the hospital waiting room on a unrelated visit, "Northern General" this is a while back, anyway he started having chest pains and pains in his arm, his wife alerted the nurse and told her of his history the nurse turned round and said we cannot do anything till he has an heart attic than she told him to go home and take some of his medication:o

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And what was the the result of your trip to hospital ? Hope it turned out ok

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Hi

 

A friend of mine who had an history of heart problems was in the hospital waiting room on a unrelated visit, "Northern General" this is a while back, anyway he started having chest pains and pains in his arm, his wife alerted the nurse and told her of his history the nurse turned round and said we cannot do anything till he has an heart attic than she told him to go home and take some of his medication:o

 

Oh my goodness, but so typical & it seems to be getting worse. I hope he was ok

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Oh my goodness, but so typical & it seems to be getting worse. I hope he was ok

 

Hi

 

As it turned out he was ok but it frightened the life out of him and his wife,

 

Some body who lives near me i saw hopping into an Ambulance a couple of weeks ago, it may be the luck of the draw on who's on the other end of the phone whether they think you need an Ambulance or not.

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So what you are saying if someone is having chest pains as long as they can still move they should get a taxi & just hope & pray they don't have a heart attack on route?

 

An ambulance isn't just a taxi, just because a person might manage some minor mobility does not mean they won't need urgent medical care on route something I don't believe the majority of taxi drivers are trained to do.

 

In this instance it appears that the operator made a call based on the history given by the OP. Assuming that it was a DVT (blood clot) then a taxi is reasonable. Below knee DVTs can progress to become serious which is why medical attention is required. However they don't warrant an ambulance.

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There was a an elderly lady in Ecclesall who was having chest pains in January. Her husband dialled 999 suspecting that it was a heart attack but was told to take her to the hospital in his car as he drove. She was pronounced dead on arrival.

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just over a year ago my wife collapsed and could not stand up - this was after about 2/3 weeks attending the doctors with numbness and tingling in both her legs

an ambulance was called and refused telling us to go to a "walk in clinic"--which we did attend and I had to almost carry my wife to this clinic and after over an hour and 2 doctors making a decision that this was a case for our doctor----------a week later I paid to see a specialist and within 30 minutes she was admitted to the Hallamshire where she spent 10 weeks

after she had been in hospital 7 weeks the diagnosis was "sarcoidosis"

she lost over 2 stone and nearly her life

15 months after coming out of hospital she has just managed to walk again.

I got an apology from South Yorkshire Ambulances ==

The day she was refused an ambulance is a day she wont forget ---it was on her 67th birthday.

 

I did hear a program a couple of weeks ago that some people actually receive a bonus for getting a non attendance --

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I am sorry to hear of your predicament dollypeg and dennisgwild. My dad is a paramedic in the Netherlands (as well as working for the emergency phone 112) and there is an increasing pressure on ambulance services from, frankly, idiots that ring them for complete nonsense situations (My dad frequently gets called to people who have a cut in their hand, they make it sound like their fingers are about to fall off yet in most cases its a plaster or a couple of stitches at most).

 

This makes it very difficult for the dispatch folks to estimate what is going on and which call to make. Combine this with typical British politeness and understatement and I can imagine the problems faced by the service here.

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just over a year ago my wife collapsed and could not stand up - this was after about 2/3 weeks attending the doctors with numbness and tingling in both her legs

an ambulance was called and refused telling us to go to a "walk in clinic"--which we did attend and I had to almost carry my wife to this clinic and after over an hour and 2 doctors making a decision that this was a case for our doctor----------a week later I paid to see a specialist and within 30 minutes she was admitted to the Hallamshire where she spent 10 weeks

after she had been in hospital 7 weeks the diagnosis was "sarcoidosis"

she lost over 2 stone and nearly her life

15 months after coming out of hospital she has just managed to walk again.

I got an apology from South Yorkshire Ambulances ==

The day she was refused an ambulance is a day she wont forget ---it was on her 67th birthday.

 

I did hear a program a couple of weeks ago that some people actually receive a bonus for getting a non attendance --

 

Truly awful story mate and I hope your other half is now a lot better.

 

In relation to my highlighted bit, it is just to confirm that wherever you heard that it is pure cobblers.

 

No dispatcher would ever receive a bonus for not sending an ambulance.

 

I think the issue that needs to be addressed here is that unfortunately there simply is not enough ambulances to go round the country,regions,cities, towns etc.

 

All too often private ambulance companies are employed by ambulance trusts because they simply do not have the minimum cover to provide the service on that particular day meaning medics etc travel from miles around to work in Yorkshire for a day or two on a private ambulance.

 

As a result of this, quite rightly the needs of patients have to be thought about and in this instance an ambulance was refused. Those who question a swollen foot to that of chest pains need to look at guidelines - it is not the same.

 

As it was however unfortunate for the OP she managed to get to a taxi and to hospital. I am sure if needed she could have called GP collaborative to attend, she could have called friends and if not the taxi driver could have assisted.

 

I'm sorry but I think the call handler on this occasion was right - if there was ever any thought of life being in danger an ambulance would have been sent.

 

I am not saying mistakes are not made, they are, but in this instance I do not think they have been.

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I don't think it is the call taker that decides who gets an ambulance, that would surely mean that they would be personally responsible if something happened to a patient. If that was the case surely there would be liable cases brought daily?

 

When you ring for an ambulance I imagine the questions you are asked are specifically designed to look for symptoms that are potentially life threatening and based on the answers an ambulance will be sent?

 

I for one am relieved that ambulances are refused if the person is not seriously ill.

 

I would hate to think that if one of my family was having a heart attack/stroke that an ambulance was delayed due to someone who is capable of getting themselves to the docs/casualty abusing the service.

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I don't think it is the call taker that decides who gets an ambulance, that would surely mean that they would be personally responsible if something happened to a patient. If that was the case surely there would be liable cases brought daily?

 

Why would they be liable, they have all taken the hippocratic oath and as such are professionally dedicated and trained to take such decisions.

 

What do you think happens in case of a massive emergency? That the paramedics that arrive first wait until there are enough people there to ensure they are not liable?

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