“Hello, 911?”
The Welsh Ambulance Service revealed some of the most ridiculous calls it received this year — including a woman who lost her voice, a person who had eaten too much kebab and another person who’d gotten their hand stuck in a mailbox.
The service said it fielded a whopping 414,149 calls to 999, its equivalent to 911 in the US, but 68,416 turned out to be not emergencies at all — an average of 188 bogus calls per day.
“Inappropriate calls put additional strain on an already over-stretched service and may delay help for others,” Andy Swinburn, executive director of paramedicine, said in a statement.
The agency published transcripts of some of the more absurd calls it received that certainly did not warrant an emergency response.
“I know it doesn’t 100% qualify as [an emergency], but my wife must have accidentally rubbed chili in her eyes and her eyes are burning. She’s tried washing them and nothing’s happening,” one caller told a dispatcher.
Another caller said, “Yesterday evening, we had some kebab, and I might have had a little bit more than I’m used to, then this morning, I’ve had a very painful stomach.”
One person called to request help because he’d gotten his ring stuck on his finger.
“Can you just come and see me please?” they asked after they were told an ambulance would not be coming.
A woman who lost her voice also thought to call 999: “What it is with her, her voice has given on her. We don’t know what to do. We’ve tried lemon and whatever, but it’s not doing any good.”
One man unfortunately had his hand stuck inside his mailbox. According to the service transcript:
“Operator: Is the patient awake?
Caller: Yeah, it’s me, my hand’s stuck in the door.
Operator: Is the door locked at the moment?
Caller: Yeah, it’s locked. Mam! No, my hand’s stuck in the f–king letterbox.
Operator: How old are you?
Caller: Open the door, my hand’s stuck!”
The bizarre calls even included a person who’d misplaced their dentures.
“I have a bottom part denture, and I went to clean my teeth and I said, ‘Where’s my false teeth?’” the caller ruminated to a dispatcher. “
This sounds crazy … but I don’t know what else to do. Could I have swallowed my false teeth?”
The service urged residents to only call 999 if a person is “in imminent danger.”
“We’re here to help people in their hour of need, but we also need the public to take some ownership and accountability for their health and wellbeing at a time when NHS services are stretched beyond measure,” Executive Director of Operations Lee Brooks said.