tinytawnykitten Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Yesterday I called 111 for my husband who was in so much sudden, prolonged abdominal pain, he couldn't stand & nearly passed out. I was 1.2km from Wgtn Free Ambulance. They took 23 minutes to arrive & then one of the ambos quizzed me about why I didn't think to take him to the GP. Is that normal? I have never called an ambulance before so I genuinely don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephanie Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 That is so wrong! I can't believe they'd ask you that. I would have done the exact same thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BikBok Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I would have called the ambulance too. Sudden, extreme prolonged abdominal pain could mean urgent attention needed. A GP visit would just prolong that! How is hubby now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytawnykitten Posted April 7, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 He's ok now. Been poked and prodded and ultra-sounded and they think it is just an infection. The ambo also said to me, 'you don't get through A&E any quicker just cos you arrive in an ambulance'. I feel really annoyed about this experience. Do you think I should make a complaint of some sort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I would have called an ambulance too what else are you supposed to do after hours? It is not like you are a doctor and know what is wrong and know to just leave it for the GP.. Have you ever tried to call health line? My wife has called it a few times for opinions and they always say to call an ambulance even when it is pretty obvious you don't need one. I would be looked at laying a complaint as well, I would have thought it was situations like this that the ambulances were for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I hate to say this, but if the situation is absolutely dire, just get into a car and drive the person to the A&E. The speed/ efficiency of NZ's ambulance service is pretty shocking (appreciative though we are!).. When I did my first aid course the instructor told us (he has decades of experience with St Johns) that it will take a MINIMUM OF 20 MINUTES for an ambulance to get to you - even in an Auckland suburb. So, think about this: if someone at work drops to the ground with a heartattack, you will have to perform CPR for at least 20 minutes before the ambulance can get to the person. Next time take the car, at least the police will give you an escort if you're caught going at 120kph in the suburbs.. Anything is better than waiting 20 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I agree with you there alloy, my wife is a heavy asthmatic and have had to call ambulances a few times for her, by the time they have got to us I could have been at the hospital.. Unsure how safe it would be me driving with the wife passing next to me though lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ally07 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Unsure how safe it would be me driving with the wife passing next to me though lol. Would that be from the asthma or your daredevil driving skills? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcrudd Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 My daughter fell of the trampoline and screamed the saddest scream I ever heard, I instantly knew she was very badly hurt. I grabbed her chucked her into the car put the hazzards on and just went for it to get to the gp, they referred me to the hospital so I did the same again, got her there, waited for about 5 hours with a 6 year old screaming everytime she just slightly moved. Eventually we were seen and the first thing the doctor said is, why did you not call an ambulance your daughter could have been seen immidiately and would not have to suffer all the pain. Turned out her whole elbow was badly dislocated. So a person never knows when they want you to phone or not. But living in Beachlands I thought I would be much quicker than an ambulance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 My experience in calling ambulances for the kids at the school where I work is that unless the person is likely to die they will take their good old time attending. We have had some major accidents where after an hour of waiting I have phoned again to be told they can not attend as it is not life threatening and I am talking in one case where a child spent 5 hours in surgery having their leg stitched up and then the hospital had the cheek to say to the parent that the time lapse in getting the kid to the hospital could have meant that damage may have been permanent. Goodness knows what would have happened if we had waited any longer for the ambulance to show, we waited an hour and several times I phoned to ask where they were - we carried the child to the parents car and mum drove him. Normally the phone operator quizzes you beyond belief anyway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Sometimes it's obvious if an ambulance is needed. Mum collapsed a few years ago and if Dad had taken her to A&E she would have died on the way. Because she was in an ambulance the Medic was able to clear airways etc etc and she made it to hospital alive. St John ambulance saved my mothers life and I will forever be grateful. They are legends. Having said that TTK, it sounds as if the person you dealt with had the wrong attitude and I'd mention it to someone. One shouldn't be made to feel like they were a nuisance because it may cause them to hesitate to ring the next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Awesome to hear it worked out for your mum Mark! But in the case where you were 10mins drive from the hospital and ambulance took 20mins to get there it would be too little too late.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I'm not sure if I'd go as far as laying a complaint, look at it from the other persons side; I'd imagine being an ambo is a pretty stressful job at the best of times. Being over-stretched and under-funded, and probably called out to a large number of call-outs where a car to A&E would have been a better option would be enough to make anyone a bit snappy. I can appreciate that for you having never experienced something like that and seeing your husband in such a state would be enough to make you freak out and I'm certainly not saying you were wrong in calling 111, but from the perspective of someone who sees stuff like that all day every day its probably easy to stay calm and realise that an ambulance may not have been necessary. It blows my mind every time I think about it that something as essential as a comprehensive ambulance service isn't part of our state-funded health care service, and even more-so that our so-called socialist parties don't seem to notice/care.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Aren't they able to charge you if they don't think it was a genuine call out? I'm sure we got charged when we called an ambulance to come and pick up a heavy relative who hurt their back and we couldn't move them. Regardless of what kind of day they are having it's no excuse. Those kind of comments are no attitude to put out to the general public when you are supposed to be seen as being a medical helper you can count on. Yes you could have taken him to A and E but you made a snap decision not to based on the situation, they weren't there to ask the right questions when you made that decision. Make a complaint. Better still, get Ira to write the complaint haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Pretty much all ambulances cost there are some free ambulance areas but I don't think they get enough funding to do it for free.. I look at it like the Ambo won't go into a plumbing shop and tell a plumber how to do his job and the plumber shouldn't expect him to, so how were you to know that it wasn't an issue for the ambulance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 +1 At a St John's First Aid course I went to they said 'if in doubt call them out'. So I would. Because you just don't know what it is until they get seen by a doctor. :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Just because the question was asked does not necessarily mean they are implying you should have gone to your GP, rather than call an ambulance. This question would have been one of several designed to help them gather as much info as possible about the onset of the illness, how fast it had happened etc. I call ambulances fairly regularly (I work for a GP) and get questioned fully by the phone operator and asked whether the ambulance can go at normal speeds or if it is serious enough to require lights and sirens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 Just because the question was asked does not necessarily mean they are implying you should have gone to your GP, rather than call an ambulance. Yep. Could easily have been taken out of context of misinterpreted because of a number of factors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matildanz Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 You should never be made to feel that you've been an inconvenience. I don't know if the Wellington Ambulance Service has the same operating procedures as St John, but I would have been shot for saying that to a patients family. I know down here that you most definitely get seen quicker if going by ambulance - how long you sit in a bed waiting for a doctor after you've been assessed is another thing entirely though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melrick1 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 I am a volunteer ambulance officer and sever abdo pain is a severity 2 callout, you have every rite to call an ambulance thats what they are there for, not to quiz you on why you called them (which we would never do!). Generaly if you are a adult and have common sence, think an ambulance is required then it generaly is and you should def not question that. You did the rite thing in calling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melrick1 Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 In regards to the time it takes for ambos to arrive exc you have to remember St Johns are the only non government funded emergency service in NZ Which of course equates to limmited fleet size, staff and avaliability. 2/3 are volunteers that dont get payed for the 12 hour shifts that they do. Cambridge for example has one ambo on call per night... One for the whole town, and when traveling to Waikato hospital (40 mins in and out minimum) there is no ambo around (so thats the time issues that people may be dealing with) Calling an ambo meens you will recieve treatment on a potentialy painful journey, and you will be strait into the ED and treated So its not that we are taking our time or anything like that lol, you should see how quick we jump out of bed and in the ambo lights flashing and all at 3am in the morning haha. And most of us do it for the love of the service and to help those in need Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 7, 2011 Report Share Posted April 7, 2011 My issue is not so much the time they take to arrive but the fact that when you ring back you are told they are still coming and then after an hour are told that they are not. Its not easy when you have a child with a damaged liver through a fall, a child that is unconcious (reason unknown), a child with their upper leg torn in half etc etc. In saying that, a definite head injury (as in you know what happened) and they do come pretty fast. Don't get me wrong, I really appreciate the volunteers and the work they do but its an awful lot easier as a trained first aider if you know when back up is coming! But being made to feel you should not be calling 111 is absolutely not right. As my husband says to me ''perhaps the person was having a bad day". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northland chic Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I'm quite sure up here unless you wait for an after hours doc if its not too bad the ambulance is the only way to go. You can't get into A&E without going through the ambulance. I have called it a few times now and always hate doing it. The just what is deemed serious enough to go, I hate the thought I'm am annoying them when its not too bad. Even here where the local ambulance is only 5 minutes drive away it still takes 15minutes or so because everyone is volunteering. Which when your father in law is having a heart attack and you are the only one home is the longest wait ever! They don't interogate you here and are quite understanding. Each time I have had to pay afterwards but didn't mind. I keep thinking I should join their membership it would be well worth it. I think I would complain as I hesitate to call them anyway and that would put me off for life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 10, 2011 Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 I think most health insurance policies cover ambulances. So surely it's worth skipping a trip to mcdonalds once a month to pay for the policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinytawnykitten Posted April 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2011 Yeah it wasn't so much the time they took - although I was so worried my husband would pass out and I wouldn't be able to stop him from hitting his head on the footpath - it was her attitude towards me which really surprised me. I have medical insurance so am not too fussed if they bill me anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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