Comments on: When Should You Ring 999?

By: Rhys

Rhys — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:48:35 +0000

To answer all your queries, we did ring 999, they protested a little bit, but eventually sent an ambulance. We’d have done Fern’s idea, but we didn’t know where home was.

By: Alan

Alan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:24:35 +0000

Difficult one. I'd probably have ended up ringing and explaining the situation to the controller, and leave them with the decision whether it is appropriate to send someone. As regards the previous fainting incident, you probably did the right thing. Most incidents of unconsciousness are serious and require an ambulance. A simple faint is an exception to this, but the only way you can really be sure of this is if they come round quickly, so if anyone is unconscious for any period of time then call an ambulance. Also, with a faint the pulse should be slow, so if someone is pale with a rapid pulse then call an ambulance pronto, as it could be a heart attack.

By: Jem

Jem — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:21:30 +0000

I would have dialed 999, but I’d have asked for the police not an ambulance.

By: Fern

Fern — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:27:26 +0000

I probably wouldn’t have called them TBH, just taken him home and probably stayed the night just to make sure all was okay and have a chat with him about what was going on when he woke in the morning.

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:01:56 +0000

I’d have called them.

They’re pretty good and will tell you if a situations not worthy of a call-out. Plus they have cute paramedics on motorbikes that can visit you too to assess if you need a full nee-naw-nee-naw to attend )

(Oh and they’ve told me that it’s not worthy of a paramedic before only to have 2 of them knock on my door ten minutes later! Doh.)

So did you call one??

By: Lottie

Lottie — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:18:25 +0000

Personally I would have called, you can’t know what will or won’t happen but if there’s any possibility that he might have run out and jumped in front of a bus then he needs immediate help and 999 is the obvious source of that.

By: Darth Claire

Darth Claire — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:41:51 +0000

Personally I would have told said bouncer that said person had sligh learning difficultys then see if said person had a mobile on him so you could contact family or someone who knows where he lives then and if that didn’t happen get a taxi with him to A&E and explain to them how you found him and how he’s been acting.

I personally would have probbably called 999 if the person didn’t want to move or was scared of what was out side of the pub or something as to me even if that person did have some learning problem he could have had his drink spiked or something!

By: mandrill

mandrill — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:56:41 +0000

I concur with Dan. Police and ambulance personnel should be talking to those who are with the person in question to ascertain the circumstances of the incident, whether for the purposes of witness statements or medical history, anyway. Rather than them jsut turning up and carting the injured/ill person off without getting any background.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 07:23:29 +0000

Hmmm a tough one – especially as I read a few Ambulance/Paramedic blogs, and they seem to deal with a lot of crazy drunken sorts. But by the end end of the stick, if you’re genuinely worried, then call 999 and tell them. Personally, I probably would have, and made sure it was clear to the paramedic that he was completely out of character, and yes while he had been drinking, he was different.

Worst case scenario, the ambulance or the police take him away to sleep it off and you look like a banana, best case, there’s something wrong and they can fix it.

-Dan