'Shameful' hoax 999 calls putting patients at risk
Thousands of 'disgusting' and 'shameful' hoax calls are putting innocent and vulnerable people at risk of death – by calling paramedics away from real emergencies.
New data released by West Midlands Ambulance Service shows that 5,437 hoax calls were made in the last five years - with more than 1,000 just last year.
It may seem like just a 'harmless' bit of fun, or no big deal, to the caller – but hoax calls waste time, money and can be incredibly distressing to the paramedics involved.
They are so serious, that anyone making a hoax call can now face six months in prison.
Paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance Service featured on Channel 4 documentary 999: On the Frontline – where they showed exactly just how hard-hitting a hoax call can be.
Opinion:
Ambulance workers Peter and Jo were called out to reports of a two-month-old baby in cardiac arrest.
Immediately, they rushed to the given address only to find they were seemingly at the wrong house.
Panicking and concerned that the child was still out there, suffering, they tried three other addresses but to no avail.
It turned out the call was a hoax, and the caller ended up turning off his phone and refusing calls. The call was then transferred to the police to deal with.
Peter, shown in obvious distress on the programme, said: "It has to rank as the worst hoax call I've ever been involved in.
"It's hard to put into words how you feel when you turn up to the door and you're met by somebody in total shock.
Frustration
"It's not anger – it's just frustration."
Paramedics are not able to stand down from the call unless they are completely sure somebody is not at risk.
Jo added: "I think hoax callers are absolutely disgusting - I think it's shameful – it's wasted all those resources, all that time and put peoples lives in danger.
"The good side and the only good side of the case is that there wasn't a child in cardiac arrest."
The hoax call involved two ambulances for almost an hour - WMAS received more than 100 real emergency calls in that time.
The service has had calls in the past about patients not breathing, serious road crashes, patients committing suicide and people on the verge of death.
Jeremy Brown, who is charge of the region's two ambulance emergency operations centres, said: "Understandably, these can be distressing for my call handlers, but when we then send vital resources on blue lights to these cases only to find that there is no-one there, you can imagine what we think.
“Not only has it tied up a call handler dealing with the call, it means those ambulances have had to drive on blue lights through often busy streets putting other drivers at risk, only to find that there was no need.
"Worse, it means they weren’t here for patients who were genuinely in need of that response. It is appalling.
“We have seen a number of people charged and convicted where they have maliciously abused the 999 call system and we will not hesitate to push for prosecutions again, if that is appropriate.
“Considering we now receive well over a million calls a year, thankfully the number of these which are hoaxes is still very low, but even one is one too many.
"We would ask everyone to help us reduce these numbers further so that we can provide the best possible service to the people who need us most.”
