Why do you think this is happening

[shillelagh]

http://lifestyle.aol.co.uk/health/bi...05074609990002

Is this because of the change in the gp hours or is it because there are more people being ill?

I know i hate being carried off in an ambulance when ive been ill. Mainly because all i want to do is go home and go to bed. I had to ring for one a few month ago but i was told to by nhs direct. All i wanted to know was can i take another painkiller - i was going to go and see my doc the following day - but they told me to ring for an ambulance to take me to the hospital. Felt stupid and all i could do was apologise to the ambulance men when they arrived. When i got to the hospital the nurse told me off for ringing for one and i told her i was told to by the nurse on nhs direct. She let me off then. Thing is though if we are told to ring for an ambulance by nhs direct for something well what are we going to do? We are going to ring them arent we.
Thing is though this is also putting pressure on casualty departments as well besides the ambulance service.

To me though the ambulance service is for when you are having an heart attack, stroke, accident from which you cannot walk or bleeding so heavily that a towel wrapped round and tied tight as a tourniquet and cant keep you till you can get to the hospital.

Ive had to ring for ambulances a few times for my mum and i think they do a great job and i wouldnt have their job for anything.

[grego]

Lack of Drs time and over reacting perhaps, I spent 20 minutes trying to get through to the gp this morning to make an appointment, I suppose if you're worried you wouldn't wait that long and phone for an ambulance if you aren't fit to make your own way to A&E.

[WillowTheWhisp]

Some people do seem to phone ambulances for very trivial reasons according to the report on the radio this morning. Braces not fitting properly was one!

I would say if you think someone is having a heart attack or they are bleeding profusely then you can't muck about trying to get them to hospital by bus.

[accymel]

Blimey i wouldnt like to waste emergency services time so dont unless vital even then i have been bad but still dont want to cause a fuss to anyone.

[cherokee]

Im going back when my kids were young and my mum would stress to me not to call the gp out unless it were truly urgent as they would charge the nhs about 75 quid a time for call outs ,so it was kind of drummed into me not to ring even so much as the gp unless it was a dire emergency....

I think a lot of whats going on now is , the fact that we dont have our gp the way we used to have and we are usually asked to take them to the closest nhs walk in centre.... In a way it is a good thing but so many people are not using whats there for the right reasons mainly because A .. they dont have transport or funding for taxis etc or B they just cant be bothered to get off their arses to go out of their home..which IMO it isnt that bad anyway..

[entwisi]

I've been in an ambulance once in my life when I was knocked off my motorcycle. at the time we didn't know what injuries I had, I was strapped to a back board with my head and neck braced against any movement. What annoyed me the most was I didn't even get blues and twos back to the hospital! he even sodding stopped at traffic lights all the way there.

As others say, I'd make my own way there unless I physically can't. I recall having a badly burned thumb from one day working at the restaurant. I was just putting a flaming sambuca down when the guy deceided to jump up without looking, it went all over my hand and I couldn't get past him to the sink to put it out before the liqued burned away[1]. I ended up driving to hospital with a pint glass of Ice between my legs and shoving my hand in it when the pain got too much which was most of the way there!


[1] Sambuca will burn on your skin without hurting as its the vapour that burns, you just need to make sure its out before all the liqued has gone!

[panther]

I can honestly say I have never been in a ambulance....touch wood!
but i do not like the noise, it always sends shivers down my spine!
but i too also reckon that some people do ring for one when they are not needed. only if your life is in danger should you ring one.