Paramedic UK » hoax

South Central Ambulance Service launches hard-hitting campaign with Rocket Science

Editor — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:17:57 +0000

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) and South Central Strategic Health Authority have created a viral campaign with Rocket Science, part of Twofour Group, to show how misusing 999 costs lives.

The project, which aims to help tackle hoax calling and inappropriate use of the ambulance service, revolves around a YouTube video, supported by an online seeding and PR plan.

Garo Berberian, executive producer, said: “Being out on the road with the ambulance service, along with an intense period of research, was absolutely paramount to the successful execution of the project. It also allowed us to realise, first hand, how incredibly hard the ambulance service works and the importance of cutting down hoax callers and inappropriate use.”

via The Drum.

SCAS launch campaign to stop hoax calls

Editor — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:20:48 +0000

A campaign to stop bogus and inappropriate calls to the region’s ambulance service is launched today.

Frustrated bosses and crews at South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) want to stamp out abuse of the 999 system which saw them receive 1,235 hoax calls last year.

They were also faced with a deluge of absurd requests including changing of light bulbs, providing lifts home, fixing TV remote controls and attending to pets.

The service is highlighting the scale of the problem to make time wasters think twice – and warned lives are being put at risk by people without a genuine emergency calling 999.

People with non life-threatening health issues are advised to contact their GP, NHS Direct, walk in centres or other out of hours health services.

via News in Maidenhead

Woman faces jail after making hundreds of hoax 999 calls

Editor — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:13:30 +0000

A teenager from Cambridgeshire has been warned she faces a possible jail term after making 756 silent 999 calls over the Christmas weekend.

Kerry Ann Moate, 18, of Samuel Jones Crescent, Little Paxton, was arrested at home after police traced her phone.

Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court heard Moate dialled the emergency services repeatedly between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.

She admitted making the calls and will be sentenced in February.

via BBC News

Man calls ambulance to unblock toilet on Christmas Eve

Editor — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:08:48 +0000

What were you doing on Christmas Eve? If you were wrapping presents in front of the fire, having drinks with friends or stuffing yourself with mince pies, spare a thought for the people working in A&E over the festive season.

You’d think that Christmas would be a time to spare a thought over whether or not your health issue was serious enough for a 999 call, but apparently not according to the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).

The NWAS have released a list of the most idiotic calls they received over the holidays, which included a male caller who dialled 999 to ask for an ambulance to help unblock his toilet.

Another man called up to say he had toothache, while a woman dialled an ambulance after getting a cotton bud stuck in her ear.

One caller rang up to complain about his itchy eye, although he had been experiencing problems for the previous three weeks.

via AOL Lifestyle UK.

SWAS condemns ‘no loo paper’ 999 call

Editor — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:04:43 +0000

Ambulance bosses are condemning a man who rang 999 to say he had run out of toilet paper.

The call was released by South West Ambulance in an attempt to make people realise pranks and hoaxes can stop genuine calls from getting through.

A spokesman said it treated all 999 calls as potentially life-threatening.

“Our call takers go through the process with callers and that will take time and they could be missing a call that’s a genuine emergency,” he added.

via BBC News

Most bizarre emergency calls revealed in UK

Editor — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 01:46:28 +0000

A caller dialled 999 — after one of their toenails fell off. Other crazy emergency calls in the run-up to Christmas included someone who wanted paramedics to carry their drunk friend to bed and a parent whose child was having a tantrum.

One person rang 999 after their relationship ended and another wanted a urine sample dropped off at hospital.

A parent complained to the emergency services that their child was being taunted and several people reported sore throats.

The calls were made to the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, which has seen a significant increase in time-wasting calls during the festive season.

Its three 999 centres have experienced a big rise in weekend calls and in the number of inappropriate emergencies reported.

A spokesman said: “A number of factors cause a rise in calls at this time of year.

“Unfortunately, people choose to call 999 when it’s not a life-threatening or serious situation and this impacts on the resources available for real emergencies.

“So please think before dialling 999; it is a lifeline for those who really do need it.”

via EMS1.

Lancashire services hunting sick hoax caller

Editor — Tue, 05 May 2009 16:50:47 +0000

Emergency crews are hunting for a hoax caller who rang 999 claiming two people were trapped in a Lancashire river.

The sick stunt has been blasted by fire chiefs who claim the individual put real lives at risk by wasting the time of so many from the rescue services.

Read full article: Click Lancashire.

Hoaxers stretch call-out services

Editor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:13:33 +0000

Tens of thousands of hoax calls have been made to the emergency services in the West Midlands during the past few years, new figures reveal.

West Midlands Ambulance Service has logged almost 10,000 hoax calls in Staffordshire between 2006 and 2008, figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show.

The region’s fire service has dealt with a total of 16,376 hoax and abandoned calls during the same period.

Today, emergency service chiefs called on the hoaxers to think twice before they waste time and resources and also called for anyone with information about people who make fake calls to contact the police.

West Midlands Ambulance Service revealed it has received 9,728 hoax calls in Staffordshire over the past three years – 3,945 in 2006, 2,937 in 2007 and 2,846 in 2008. It reported another 2,220 across Hereford and Worcester and 1,674 in Coventry and Warwickshire during the three years.

Read full article: Express & Star

Ambulance crews slam 999 hoax calls

Editor — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:50:11 +0000

Ambulance crews slammed young children who made a series of hoax 999 calls in Stevenage.

Three times crews were sent to the Tesco supermarket in the town centre after 999 calls said people had collapsed and on two other occasions, crews went to the seated area outside the old Littlewoods store, also in the town centre, after they received further 999 calls saying people had collapsed and needed emergency help.

The calls were eventually traced to the nearby public phone outside Costa Coffee.

“These hoax calls are diverting crews away from what could be real emergencies,” said Beds and Herts Ambulance Service spokesman Gary Sanderson.

“Crews are very angry when they suddenly realise their time has been wasted by a hoax call.

Read full article: The Comet.