999 refused my call - is this normal??

[monkeygirl]

last night (middle of the night) my sister (who lives in wakefield) fell down the stairs and banged her head pretty badly. i received a frantic phone call from my niece who is 8. i could hear my sister in the background but she was clearly not properly conscious. my niece was panicking (fair enough) so i said to call an ambulance but she couldn't get herself together so i rang off and i rang 999. from the start i said i was in sheffield (by which time i was in my car and en-route), my niece was home alone with my injured sister and she was in wakefield. they took about 5 minutes taking my details and then told me that, this was east midlands ambulance service and they couldn't take my call for that area!!! they told me i had to get someone in the house to call 999!! i said that my niece was the only other person (other than my injured sister) in the house and she wasn't able to. they just kept repeating to get someone in the house to ring and then an ambulance would be sent!!

 

i did ask couldn't they transfer the request across the area but it seemed not. i have never known anything so stupid and i really don't understand why. the most important thing is that my sister is fine (over 20 stitches to the head and a night in hospital later). a neighbour heard my niece screaming and came round, she rang an ambulance and one came very quickly. has anyone come across 999 not taking calls across areas before and is this normal?

[999tigger]

Make a complaint. yes ive heard of it before , its really to do with money and jurisdiction, there was a case recently about a motorcyclist who died and the slow response was due to ambulances thinking someone else had responsibility.

 

If you arent happy make a complaint. If they didnt have the faciliyu to transfer then maybe they could have given you the direct line for the service covering Wakefiled. Glad to hear she is ok.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-34350697

Edited February 8, 2016 by 999tigger

[sgtkate]

Glad to hear she is ok. What a mess! I assumed all the 999 operators were joined up UK wide, I didn't realise it was regional.

 

As tigger says, you should make a complaint, not to get anything other than for the 999 service to look at improving its procedures. This cannot be a one off incident, lots of people must just about manage to ring a relative before passing out etc, leaving the relative to phone for an ambulance.

[wrinkly67]

Dreadful on many counts, not least expecting that an 8 year old may have had to venture out in the middle of the night to get help.

[suzyoo]

so how would it work if you rang on a mobile phone

can they tell where you are/ making the call from

[monkeygirl]

so how would it work if you rang on a mobile phone

can they tell where you are/ making the call from

 

 

i did ring on a mobile and so yes, they can tell where you are calling from and, although i rang 999 i was put through to east midlands ambulance - i didn't ask for it. so it must be based from your gps location and presumes that the caller is the person needing help where they are

[Dales]

When you dial 999, you are put through to the local Ambulance service, Police force or Fire service for the area you are in.

I wonder if they requested that someone from the house called 999 so that the local ambulance service could give first aid instructions to your niece until the ambulance turned up?

It does seem strange that they couldn't take the details and pass them on to the relevant place on your behalf though.

[alchresearch]

i did ring on a mobile and so yes, they can tell where you are calling from and, although i rang 999 i was put through to east midlands ambulance - i didn't ask for it. so it must be based from your gps location and presumes that the caller is the person needing help where they are

 

Probably able to get information on the cell tower your phone is linked to.

[hyper]

Glad to hear she is ok. What a mess! I assumed all the 999 operators were joined up UK wide, I didn't realise it was regional.

 

As tigger says, you should make a complaint, not to get anything other than for the 999 service to look at improving its procedures. This cannot be a one off incident, lots of people must just about manage to ring a relative before passing out etc, leaving the relative to phone for an ambulance.

 

I agree.

What gets measured, gets done.

No complaints, there's nowt to fix

[geared]

Dreadful on many counts, not least expecting that an 8 year old may have had to venture out in the middle of the night to get help.

 

I'm sure it happens all the time.

 

You're on the phone to a relative, they're walking around and slip down the stairs.

All you hear on the phone is alot of thuds, clatters and a short moan before they pass out.

 

They won't send an ambulance unless someone from the house calls - well what if they're not able to call, is that tough luck???

I hope the OP makes a formal complaint, that kind of nonsense is clearly not good enough.