AS hospitals and other health services come under increasing winter pressures the ambulance service is appealing for people to only use 999 calls for the ‘most critical’ emergencies.

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) has listed a few examples of where 999 callers have asked for an ambulance for frivolous reasons.

The service wants people to make people think before they call 999 to help ambulances reach the people who really need urgent help, potentially saving lives.

Of the 1,066,630 incidents the service dealt with in the last 12 months one quarter of these did not in fact require an ambulance response.

In one incident a caller summoned an ambulance because they had no heating, asking the paramedics to bring a heater.

The 999 phone call-handlers asked “is the patient breathing?” and the householder’s response was “yes, but we haven’t got any heating due to a power cut, can someone bring us a heater?”

Other non-urgent calls over the past 12 months have included a person who hurt a finger while playing football, a caller who lost their walking stick, another who lost a pair of keys, and even someone wanting treatment for a bad nightmare and 999 was dialled for help for someone who had fallen off a chair, while already in hospital.

This January, SWASFT is reminding people to use its services responsibly and only call 999 in a genuine life-threatening emergency. People should otherwise ask their doctor or urgent treatment centres (minor injury units) or pharmacists for help.

William Lee, assistant director of operations at SWASFT, said: “People call 999 when they or someone else is desperately ill or injured and need urgent medical attention. These calls are for situations where minutes matter and lives are at risk.

“Inappropriate calls tie up our emergency lines and divert valuable resources away from those in genuine need, such as people who have stopped breathing, are unconscious, or are experiencing a serious medical emergency.

“We’re reminding people to use 999 responsibly and only for life-threatening emergencies. For non-urgent health concerns, there are faster and more suitable options available that can provide quicker and a more appropriate care.

“We understand that some callers with non-urgent complaints genuinely need help, but it’s essential to keep 999 available for those who are facing the most critical emergencies.”

On an average day, SWASFT manages around 2,650 incidents which can escalate to over 3,000 at times of significant pressure.

999 calls are answered by emergency medical dispatchers who are trained to receive calls, provide scripted medical advice over the telephone, and triage calls which may result in an ambulance being sent out. The service says that handling non-urgent or inappropriate calls puts additional pressure on an already busy service.

For non-life-threatening emergencies, people can access appropriate care by visiting NHS 111 Online, contacting their GP or getting advice from a pharmacy.