I would not last five minutes working in Ambulance Control. I know that there is sometimes a ‘them & us’ thing between front-line Ambulance crews and those that work in ‘Puzzle Palace’ but I give them the utmost respect for dealing with these jokers!
A very small sample of the calls I have been called to over the years include the chap who had a headache and could not get the top off his paracetamol container…the lady who wanted her curtains drawing…the woman who had broken a fingernail…someone who wanted us to put their husband to bed…etc etc etc.
But the difference being is that these calls I went to have been over a very long time in service. Command & Control deal with these calls every day and have to try and filter them out!!! We can now build up a case file against the regular abusers of the 999 system but the one-offs get away with their ludicrous demands and suffer no penalty!
Purpleplus 
If I hadn’t experienced it first hand I would think things like this as a complete piss take!
The things the human being can do and say will never cease to be astonishing!
When I got rushed in the other Saturdau and they told me the Big hospital wasn’t taking emergencies and I was heading for another town, it was amazing how many frequent flyers weren’t interested in being transported there that night, I was the first transported call of the night, so I know where you are coming from….xx
Tag…you’re it…….
Louise…the down side of the job!
AnneDroid…sometimes the general public can have a ‘moment of severe intelligence’ loss! (Assuming that there was a modicum of intelligence there in the first place!)
Emma…our work load is huge compared to 5, 10, 15 years ago. A lot of people see 999 as their first port of call before exploring all the other options. x
Mr. Nighttime…’Tag…you’re it…’ No I’m not because I had both feet off the ground!
One of our regulars always calls asking for the crew to either close his curtains or put him to bed. There are so many things I’d like to say to him, were it not for the fact that it’s a recorded line!!
Magic Man, I blame GP’s for that, mine in particular has a two week waiting list for appointments, unless it’s a medical emergency, who can decide if it is though!..x
We recieved a call for hiccups once….. before I did this job I truly believed people only called 999 if they genuinely needed help….. now nothing surprises me.
Danni…hiccups the ‘involuntary spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm’ leads sometimes to the ‘(in)voluntary spasmodic contraction of the brain!’
Have you seen the examples on the A&S site?
WOnderbar
ATNS…whats the address?
I work in a police control room and ive had calls like that.
Scarily ive even had a woman like the last one arguing on a 999 line that she had an emergency…. her washing machine was broken. i cut that one short sharpish…..