Got a taxi to A&E instead, not wasting an ambulance on something which isn't getting acutely worse, it can wait a few minutes.

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nixtracer@reddit

That could be a rupture. Emergency, so you were prioritized. I had similar embarrassment with stunningly intense heart pain in Sep 2020 after my first COVID bout: paramedics arrived in about ten minutes. It turned out to be COVID gunge in my left lung, right under the heart... but apparently not easy to distinguish from an actual heart attack. Still felt guilty for wasting ambulance time in a pandemic.

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TheGeordieGal@reddit

Sat in A&E for 8 hours before anyone looked at me and then gave me pain killers and hooked me up to a drip for the dehydration and I had to lay on the floor rather than the trolley to get a larger drop to push the fluids in faster.

Then send to a day ward and sat in a chair where I had surgical and medical consultants look over me and send me for X-rays, MRI, Ultrasound testing over the next 48 hours all on nil by mouth as they thought they would need to operate.

Final result was gallstones and my gallbladder was full of them but one had moved and had become stuck in a vessel in the liver, but due to the time it had taken for all the checks it had dislodged so I ended up with being sent home with medicine for the vomiting and painkillers and told to change my diet and reduce fat and fried food intake but if it happened again they would operate. That was about 3 years ago and so far I have managed to avoid another attack!

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Rudahn@reddit

A suspected heart attack (even if it turns out not to be!) is absolutely not a waste of ambulance time. Any self-respecting paramedic would rather you be seen and checked over than risk mission something potentially life-threatening.

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IdioticMutterings@reddit

I went to my GP with chest pains after mowing the lawn. The receptionist offered me an appointment in 6 weeks time.

Fortunately a GP was in the reception area, collecting some paperwork, and overheard. Sent her away into the office for a talk with the practice manager, and took me through to his office.

My wife called 999 while miscarrying in heavy pain, they told her there was nothing they could do and to make her own way to A&E, despite being told her husband was out of the country.

Safe to say I now don't trust the emergency services to get anyone anywhere to the hospital quickly, if at all.

Glad you at least got through to someone who cared.

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Nice_Back_9977@reddit

As hard as that must have been for her that was an appropriate response. Paramedics aren’t for transport, they are for people who need emergency treatment on site and en route to the hospital.

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LeTrolleur@reddit

She was hemorrhaging blood, and once she did get to the hospital, she was rushed to a room and kept in while they gave her emergency clotting agents.

So tell me again, was it an appropriate response?

Forgive me if I forget certain details, possibly the worst time of our lives and don't enjoy reliving it.

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Penjing2493@reddit

She made it to hospital safely, without collapsing - so yes, it sounds like an appropriate response.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

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ZebraCrosser@reddit

Someone surviving something doesn't necessarily determine whether it should've been judged as safe beforehand.

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Penjing2493@reddit

Not only survived - had no adverse event at all - made it to hospital entirely safely.

I would suggest that in the absence of an adverse event having occurred, or OP being a medical professional with expertise in the design of triage algorithms then they're probably not in a position to claim the triage was inappropriate.

In fact it would arguably have been unnecessary to dispatch an ambulance given that OP's partner got to hospital with no adverse event occurring - thus demonstrating in this case that the triage algorithm out-performed some randoms on the internet.

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Nice_Back_9977@reddit

I'm sorry for your loss

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ViSaph@reddit

My mum called with an extremely high fever and while really out of it with no way of safely getting to the hospital and an 8 & 4 yo in the house. The woman said she was going to talk to someone and call back. When she did she was told the ambulance service had refused to come out and it was only when mum said it meant she wasn't going to be able get checked out at all that the lady on the line personally arranged a taxi for mum. She barely managed to get to it, really freaking the driver out, then collapsed getting out of it. The poor taxi driver had to run for help. Turned out to be sepsis from infected tonsillitis, she was tachycardic with a heart rate in the 170s. She'd also apparently been hallucinating being on a boat with a Chinese lady. She nearly died and she would have died if she'd not gone into hospital.

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LeTrolleur@reddit

So sorry to hear this, I'm glad your mum survived!

There seem to be a lot of people on here with a funny idea regarding what constitutes an emergency.

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limakilo87@reddit

As horrendous as this is, ambulances must be for acute emergency care. It is a finite resource. If you have ever waited for an ambulance with somebody who is rapidly becoming dead from catastrophic injuries, it can make it more clear cut for you.

I would say, more widespread use of non-emergency ambulances would be a good idea. First aider/driver, and does multiple pick ups on one run.

Necessary_Umpire_139@reddit

I work for 111, for you to get a cat 1 for abdo pain you must've been very ill ie chest pains or they've miss clicked. 111 is a great tool and obviously I think we do great stuff but surely they explained they were gonna send ambulance?

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TheGeordieGal@reddit

Honestly, everything hurt at that point - my stomach, abdomen, back, chest - everything. I felt like I was being stabbed and crushed and torn apart at the same time - I wouldn't wish that pain on my worst enemy. I recall getting to the hospital and asking a nurse to end me as I couldn't deal with the pain any more (and they only gave me a few paracetamol before sending me home). I remember the paramedics did my blood sugar, did my pulse and o2 and told me I looked seriously grey and unwell and just bundled me onto the seat (sad I didn't get the bed lol) in the ambulance with the gas and air and a sick bag and we left. I didn't get lights or anything on the way to the hospital at least but it's super quiet that time of day anyway.
And nope. They didn't say. They just said they'd get back in touch then the ambulance turned up a few mins later. When it first turned into the street I thought it was for someone else initially until it stopped outside my house.

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Must have been 20 by years ago because no ambulance is showing up that quickly now

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Elegant_Sinkhole@reddit

"No Englishman would dream of dying in someone else's house!"

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It was published earlier this year by Lisa Jewell, who's from London (if it's the book I think it is)

I'm mid 30s and the only thing in life I measure in Farenheit is a fever!

When I was a kid in the 90s

That was thirty years ago.

my granny

I am late 60s. I have been using centigrade for a long time now.

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LiqdPT@reddit

And do we know when the book was written?

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therealdrewder@reddit

30 isn't particularly old

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MolassesInevitable53@reddit

Did you misread?

We are not talking about someone being 30 years old (that's young). We are talking about what things were like 30 years ago.

For people, 30 is young. For whether we do things differently now, 30 years sees a lot of change.

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blinky84@reddit

My dad is your age and he definitely still only thinks in Fahrenheit for body temp. I just asked him 🤷🏻‍♀️

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blinky84@reddit

I am late 60s. I have been using centigrade for a long time now.

Oldsoldierbear@reddit

I’m glad you are OK now.

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BreqsCousin@reddit

You've said "here" but we don't know where "here" is for you

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RhinoRhys@reddit

everybody has guns

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No-Parsnip563@reddit

You are supposed to get medical help at 40°C, especially if it’s a kid, just because it’s a very dangerous temperature to remain at.

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Setting3768@reddit

For just a 40C temperature? No. The NHS guidance on this doesn't agree with you: https://www.nhs.uk/symptoms/fever-in-children/.

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Salty_Horse_8467@reddit

'get medical help' does not translate into needing to go to ED.

Also this is just not true, I am a doctor. It's very normal to have a fever with a cold or flu. If the child is uncomfortable then take calpol.

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Sea-Possession-1208@reddit

Hence the "responds to calpol" bit.

Once a child is above 6months old a fever alone, even 40ºC isn't the issue - it is how the child or adult is in themselves. (Under 6m please seek medical attention for a fever above 39 and under 3m old for a fever above 38, unless they have just had their immunisations that day)

Hot and happy - the fever is the immune system doing its job. Few are hot and happy at 40. But lots are at 39.5. And a dose of calpol (or supermarket's own brand) does wonders to bring back the happy.

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seklas1@reddit

Because ambulances are only for 70+. If you’re a younger person, they don’t have any available for you so the quicker way is driving/uber to hospital.

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seklas1@reddit

Because ambulances are only for 70+. If you’re a younger person, they don’t have any available for you so the quicker way is driving/uber to hospital.

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bethelns@reddit

A 40c temp in a child needs to be seen by a doctor but isnt an emergency. You'd give calpol (kids liquid acetaminophen/paracetamol) then check the temp is going down but its not an emergency and theres nothing an ambulance can do other than drive you to a&e. You're probably going to get there quicker using a taxi or a friend to drive you.

My 2yo got a 40c temp on christmas day of all days. It came down a little after calpol but enough lethargy and still over 38c so we called the non emergency line (111) and she was then seen by the out of hours GP for an antibiotics prescription.

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I got thanked too last time I needed one. New years eve. They came out for monitoring after epi pen use.

I did get told off for doing something stupid though; eating something I know I'm allergic to because I was somehow under the impression that I was making up my allergy and would be totally fine. I have no idea why I thought I was making it up, or how I managed to gaslight myself into thinking I was ok.

Turns out that I absolutely didn't make it up, I was not totally fine and I messed up my family's new year's eve... With a pear.

The pear was delicious, a very good one to end my relationship with parts with, but I wouldn't say it was worth potentially dying over. It also wasn't worth scaring the moobs off my husband by asking him "do you think I should use my pen?" when it turns out I already had slightly blue lips and was wheezing. "Get somewhere comfy, woman. You're getting stabbed.".

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BoleynRose@reddit

My boss (we're teachers) told me a few years ago she had an 11 year old decide to listen to his friends and use his epipen without needing it. She had to call an ambulance.

He might have been right, but it was their receptionist that told me to wait - he wasn't overly amused when I called him out on how rude he was being.

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This_Instruction_206@reddit

The system depends on people to be honest and accurate. Intentionally or otherwise if someone gives the wrong information they will get the wrong priority.

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This_Instruction_206@reddit

The system depends on people to be honest and accurate. Intentionally or otherwise if someone gives the wrong information they will get the wrong priority.

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char11eg@reddit

I mean, yes, but we’re talking about different subsets of the public.

NHS will treat you 'for free' if you need it but you're supposed to have travel insurance they can charge after the fact and/or be from a country with a reciprocal agreement with your own national health service, where applicable

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Bossco1881@reddit

An ambulance ride or A&E treatment is free for everyone, UK national, tourist, immigrant, everyone. No one should worry about paying in an emergency.

This is nonsense. Some British people are so reckless with the ambulance service and treat it more like a taxi service. So much so that other British people know that as a result, the ambulance service is so horrifically stretched that if the patient is still breathing, it's quicker and easier to take them to A&E themselves.

Source: British person who works in healthcare.

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Rico1983@reddit

Either:

waiting times for ambulances were mental Or
it suits the story.

The author needed a stressful situation to throw two people together.

The character isn’t from the UK and didn’t know about 999 or 111.

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

Free ambulance that takes 4 hours to arrive vs car ride that's instant?

104 F (40 C) is a rather high fever though.

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Phantom_Crush@reddit

I'm guessing that this is a pivotal plot moment so that's why it happened. Don't read too much into it (hah!)

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Either_Reality3687@reddit

I was reading a book that claimed they buried a boy without someone confirming it was the bot in question apparently the writer wrote that the mortician said the boy's body was in such a bad state that they told his mother not to look. I'm sorry but no they need someone to identify the body.

If someone doesn't know the culture and tries to write from that perspective they get things wrong.

A fever isnt an emergency. Its a sign that your body is fighting an infection, its different for babies, but usually you'd only seek medical attention for a toddler or kid if its persistent or they have a seizure or something.

An ambulance is for when you have an urgent medical need.

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loserbaby_@reddit

I have only called an ambulance once in my life when my kid was younger and had a bad case of bronchiolitis, she went downhill very quickly and all of a sudden she couldn’t stay awake no matter what I tried. I absolutely did not feel comfortable driving to A&E at that point because I needed to watch her like a hawk and make sure she was still breathing.

Other than things like that, we almost always go to A&E. A lot of the time for things that aren’t genuine emergencies that need urgent and immediate attention, A&E is faster anyway, and it’s not like it’s first come first served either, they will prioritise people based on their condition at the time.

All that said, it’s also a book, and I would imagine this was maybe just part of a plot point lol

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Silver-Appointment77@reddit

You might not ring 999 but you would 111 who if you need an ambulance will stay on the phone till one gets there, as I know by experience. Some of them are good and can give you good advice or make appointments with urgent care, so youre not waiting in A&E all night.

Even by the temperature its wrong. High in the uk would be over 39-40c. Not in farenheit. Im guessing the author is American, as they dont seeem to know anything about 111.

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L-Space_Orangutan@reddit

Usually not the case in wales at least might different in england, if 111 have transferred your call to 999 once the pt is confirmed to be able to hear the 999 call handler the 111 call handler is gone to their next call as the patient has been properly transferred through

if there was a interpreter on the line the 111 call handler stays on in case there's a disconnection to get them back on but otherwise bam they're gone

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Silver-Appointment77@reddit

Ah right. I just thought it was normal as the 111 operater stayed on line with me, giving me information on what to do until an ambulance arrived when my husband had an Anaphylactic shock through some new medication he was given.

Although thinking back I think they said they couldnt get through to the emergency line. So they couldnt pass me through to them.

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Crabstick65@reddit

Timeliness, sometimes they take literally hours because deliberately understaffed by the previous Government, plus they triage calls, if your gonna die soon then you get priority.

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Relevant_Cause_4755@reddit

If you need to get to A&E really quickly call a taxi (for the younger generation, the thing that Uber replaced).

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lockdown_warrior@reddit

Or just call a taxi. If people called an ambulance every time a kid got a temperature, the system would utterly collapse. Degree of temperature does not correlate to extent of sickness.

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46Vixen@reddit

The NHS is incredible. It's being used incorrectly ( A&E isn't a GP), it's underfunded and overused. We are fortunate to have the NHS and need to understand what urgent, emergency and life threatening are.

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Kitsune9_Tails@reddit

Yes, we’re so fortunate that something as important as healthcare has been effectively monopolized by the state.

No amount of money thrown at them will solve the baked in communication, calculation, prediction, and resource management problems. All corporations face these problems, but at least the ones paid by their customers rather than with stolen money have at least some idea of what people want or need.

Don’t get me wrong, the American system has a lot of problems too. In fact, it’s a lot of the same problems, and they come from the same place.

Actually, let’s talk about the similarities. We both have both private and public healthcare, but the attention is always on British public and American private. The publics are both “free” (not actually free), with the issues I outlined above and waittimes that lead to, for example, people ripping out their own teeth due to the pain, people dying in waiting rooms, laws that say you can only be in a waiting room for x amount of time and if the paramedics think you’ll be longer than that they leave you in the ambulance which is now out of use for the foreseeable.

Next, private. Oh, you’ll get to see someone but it’ll cost you an arm and a leg because everything is over regulated, with not enough competition to bring down the price through market forces. There’s state imposed limits on how many doctors and hospitals can even be active in a region, new hospitals need permission from their competition to be able to open, and there’s arbitrarily inflated training times. There’s patents (monopolies) on who can or can’t produce certain drugs, which is why exactly one group makes insulin and it’s absurdly expensive.

Emergency services (999) will ask about difficulty breathing and being unconscious/unable to arouse the patient when you call in order to prioritise. We have a 111 phone line who can advise (and do out of hours emergency prescriptions) and online services like “ask my GP” where you can ask non urgent questions (is my mole ok, what are we doing about my test results) for same day answers.

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New_Vegetable_3173@reddit

Was it written by an American? I’m not sure it makes much sense.
What time period was it written in? Before the 1950s we didn’t have the NHS.
What time period was it written in? Did she have a phone?
Did the mum realise that it was a dangerous temperature? In the current age you would ring 111 if you weren’t sure and they would tell you if you needed to ring an ambulance. However that’s a fairly recent invention so prior to that people wouldn’t call ambulance they didn’t think it was an emergency and maybe the mum didn’t realise?

I said to another person it was either an American author or was changed for an American audience. I used to love her books but not read any for years.

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deusxm@reddit

Several reasons:

Most people in the UK recognise that an ambulance isn't a taxi to get you to hospital. An ambulance is a sort of temporary mobile hospital, for when you might actually die in minutes or are too incapacitated to be transported without medical supervision. So to ask for an ambulance is to basically concede that you are in big, big trouble, which isn't what most people want to think.
Particularly with babies, many parents will want to feel a sense of agency while also bearing in mind point 1. Many parents would probably prefer to take their baby to A&E themselves as it keeps them in control and psychologically helps stave off the 'my baby's about to die' feeling. It is also worth noting that it may genuinely be quicker to head over yourself as otherwise you're waiting for an ambulance to travel from the hospital, get to you, and then travel back. So it's potentially double the wait time (obviously could be less as an ambulance can cut through traffic etc.)
There's a finite number of available ambulances, whether you pay for them or not. In a private system, ambulances are allocated according to who has the most money. In the UK, ambulances are allocated based on priority of need, and most people would be aware of point 1 ie. If it's straightforward enough to get to A&E yourself, most people have a moral compass to think 'save the ambulance for the people who really need it' - which means quite a few people make their own way into hospital when really they should have had an ambulance instead.

And yet the once I needed to dial 999, I had an ambulance crew walking in my door in under 2 minutes with more right behind them.

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I once stayed with a woman in her 70s who had fallen and hit the back of her head on a kerb. It was about 2 degrees C and felt colder with the windchill. The blood flow from the back of her head was like nothing I had ever seen.

She fell at 11pm on a Saturday night (she had just left the local social club) and the ambulance arrived at 2.40.

Unfortunate timing I am sure, what with them being tied up with the usual Saturday night A&E crowd, and us being in a relatively rural area, but it was very disconcerting. I thought I lost her a couple of times.

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gimmesuandchocolate@reddit

I was once in a similar situation in central London literally 1.5 blocks from a major hospital. A very elderly frail lady on the ground in the middle of a cold winter day - she'd fallen quite badly about an hour before I walked there. A lady who saw it called an ambulance, people from houses on that street were trying to help, but the 999 dispatcher explicitly forbade anyone to move the lady (so even those who offered to drive her to the hospital were told not to). People brought her blankets, it was really cold. No clue when an ambulance finally showed up. You could actually see the hospital from where she was laying in the ground, still no ambulance.

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Sea_Refrigerator4451@reddit

Are you reading Don't Let Him In by any chance? 😂

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Londongirl7@reddit

I too have read this

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I'm going to guess you're reading Don't Let Him in?

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Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit (OP)

Haha yep! :)

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tunaman808@reddit

Cost aside, don't most Americans keep ambulances for actual, "life or death" emergencies?

I've only been to the ER once, after a heart attack, and my wife drove me there, because we didn't see the need to take up an ambulance someone might really need now that my condition had stabilized.

Costs to the NHS are as follows:-

Call to 999 - £7
Ambulance callout:- £252
A&E Visit (basic cost before any specialist treatment):- £419

(obviously average costs as every case is different but these are the notional costs)

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EquivalentBag23@reddit

And that is just bare minimum before you get into any drugs or treatment/supplied given on the ambulance/in ED I guess. Adds up fast.

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Osterbeast1955@reddit

Absolutely …… I’ve been on jobs where we’ve spent over two hours at a patients house.

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Sonarthebat@reddit

Irl, wait times. It doesn't make much sense in this case though.

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Valherudragonlords@reddit

Rheres two main reasons:

If you can get to the hospital yourself you dont call an ambulance. This is because we all pay National Health Insurance, so we see it as a collective responsibility to not make the health service more expensive.
Ambulances are prioritised in order of need. It is not first come first served, it's based on who is closer to death. If a baby or old person is in hospital with a fever they will ne seen before a 25 year old with a fever even if they arrived later.

What this means is that if you call an ambulance when you dont really need one, or you are not at risk of dying within hours, you will be waiting a long time so it's quicker to drive.

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followrule1@reddit

It's faster. That simple really, if you don't have to wait for an ambulance to get to you then driving or getting a taxi is quicker. Ambulances are free but a fever isn't a massive priority compared to breathing issues or heart problems.

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Penjing2493@reddit

An ambulance is for when you need immediate life-saving medical attention before and on the way to hospital, or when you're so unwell/injured that travelling via an alternative method is simply impossible.

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Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit (OP)

Well to answer your question… no. That’s why I’m asking. 😅 free is great but def sounds like your healthcare has its own issues!!

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Hairy_Ad5141@reddit

Unfortunately, too many people call 999 for ingrowing toe nails, splinters in fingers, etc.

It's possible that they wanted to get there so fast they didn't bother with an ambulance.

Although, if they gave the temperature in Fahrenheit, there's a good chance the author is American and is applying a USA way of thinking to it. Another give away is if they call it a cellphone.

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Gold-Collection2636@reddit

My husband is a call handler for the NHS, he said in that situation if you called for an ambulance they would recommend you call 111 instead as it's a concern rather than an emergency

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Claret-and-gold@reddit

If you call an ambulance you can be waiting a very long time. My friend slipped outside our hotel and broke her hip. We managed to get her into the lobby. She was going into shock. There was (luckily) a medic who was particularly worried because her limb was going cold and she was concerned there could be spinal damage. We waited a little over 2 hours for the ambulance to arrive - that was pretty quick. A friend of mine her elderly father was on the floor for almost 5 hours when he fell and broke his. You don’t ring for an ambulance unless there’s no alternative and you cannot get to hospital yourself by taxi or another means.

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No-Parsnip563@reddit

Will you die on the way to hospital? If no, you drive.

I’ve been to A&E a fair bit in my life. As a kid, some of the reasons were: knocked out, sustained high temperature, cracked head open, potentially broken bones (5 times).

Gatodeluna@reddit

I think it’s just an author without adult real-world knowledge of US medical care. Americans do not routinely run to call ambulances for anything that can be handled over the phone or by a visit to Urgent Care or A&E. A temperature of 104 F for a baby or toddler does not mean the same as if that 104 temp was in an adult. Babies get higher temps. Anyone who has HAD a baby knows this. You call your doctor’s office and discuss symptoms. Dr may call in a prescription at the local chemist/drugstore and give several suggestions for comfort care. They will also say if X or Y worsens or if Z happens, THEN take them to Urgent Care or the ER.

From what I have read over time, waiting times in the UK are much worse than they are in the US and in less pleasant or comfortable circumstances. You have to be scary almost-dying to be looked at. That’s part of the British psyche that Americans don’t share. We don’t go for little things. We go when they get scary, or so painful there’s no relief. But we don’t stay home for fear of what our neighbors would think, either.

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Healthy-Tap7717@reddit

But we don’t stay home for fear of what our neighbors would think, either.

First of all 'neighbours' is the correct spelling of the word in the English language, but we Brits understand that with American inbreeding you find it difficult to spell and elocute. Secondly, scared to go outside because of what the neighbours would think?? Im honestly baffled.... I mean America is the country that has literally outlawed abortion in some States in order to shame women, right? You literally have religious sectors and Cults inbreded in you society in order to make people feel to ashamed to live life because of what the other soccer mums will think, what the church will say, people living in sin are shunned.... its like some 1600s bullshit In the UK we dont really do that. I mean unless someone has a real mental health issue (and know it dont mean being Gay so you need an excorism) people DGAF we have parents doing the school run in pajamas!!

I think it’s just an author without adult real-world knowledge of US medical care

I will add reading to the above statement. OP is clearly reading a book about the UK, so real-world knowledge of the US medical system is...... just not relevant. That and the fact that you clearly have 0 understanding of how the NHS works in the UK is actually quite hilarious.

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Gatodeluna@reddit

While I wouldn’t term your comment ‘hilarious’ exactly, it’s bordering on. You just 1000% reaffirmed for me that the reason this sub exists here on Reddit is for one purpose only - to bash any American they possibly can, any way they possibly can. And your oh-so-condescending ‘the correct spelling of the word in the English language…’ LMAO. I’m going to have a great laugh from now on every time I hear a Brit talk about eating tack-ohs🙄.

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Healthy-Tap7717@reddit

Right as opposed to Taahhcoals 🤣🤣

It is interesting how you did ignore your very own stupidity, a book about London, yet the author hadn't had any "adult real-world knowledge of US medical care". We don't want to bash Americans, the fact that you are so dumb yet feel so superior just makes it so easy.... thats all.

Oh and PS.... I hope you do understand as Brits, we fully identify with our misgivings. It is just when you can't even point out actual 'misgivings' when trying to bash us and at the same time writing something as dumb as you did it just has to be called out. If you are going to insult a country of citizens you need to do your homework. Then find a way to twist the knife because just a stab isn't effective we tend to agree on a lot of the problems in the UK (societal ones, political ones nit so much but we dont wear hats, storm the royal palace or have an outright total disregard for democracy. We leave that to the inbreds jn the USofA). So please, I beg of you... next time at least before you try to get on a high horse about how big Pharama companies have got Americans addicted to opiods then cut them off causing widespread addiction to street drugs or how one babies life is worth more than another's depending on how much money you have :- yet abortion is outlawed, I beg of you just please READ THE POST.

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Gatodeluna@reddit

As are you, hon. Or maybe just with your teeny..appendage.

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Icy_Ear7079@reddit

You are talking out of your arse.

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Standard-Display-818@reddit

Sometimes, it's quicker to drive as ambulances can take minutes to hours depending on how busy they are.

Also, in the uk, there's a huge stigma about wasting NHS resources as they are struggling. Some people don't call ambulances out of fear they might be wasting time or they don't believe the situation is urgent enough. I think it's just down to personal opinion. Some people will call an ambulance over a broken toe because they believe its an emergency. Other people could have a metal pole impailing their head and refuse to call one because they feel its not needed.

Or I'm maybe analysing the book to much and the author just wanted the character to drive lol.

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eyeball-beesting@reddit

'Don't Let Him' In by Lisa Jewell?

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I'm an American. The great majority of Americans do not call ambulances for high fevers and would not do so even if they were free. If it's during the day, you call the doctor first and get their advice. You might take them to the ER in the evening, but you would drive them in your car.

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Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit (OP)

Yeah, I agree, but in the book the character was freaking the hell out about it and I was just wondering why she didn’t

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Healthy-Tap7717@reddit

The reality is, is that although we dont have to pay for an ambulance if you live close to a hospital and can transport the patient safely then you are at a much higher chance of getting to the hospital quicker. The ambulance service works on a priority basis based system. Elderly people fall down the stairs and hit theor head but will be laying their for 4hrs waiting for an ambulance of they are breathing and conscious. Life threatening emergencies take president of course.

Imagine a scale from 1-5 that is how they rate there calls. I have had a carer call an ambulance for me and they were so busy they called back to see if I could be triaged by a paramedic over the phone and determine if the ambulance was necessary (im wheelchair bound and my carer could not transport me). I had sepsis and it had spread to my lungs but it took 3hrs for the ambulance. Then you have to consider all the other people they did that too and those who didn't receive emergency treatment (likely with good reason).

An ambulance is for when you cannot get to the hospital yourself.

A high fever, someone can drive them there. Be it a taxi, yourself, a neighbour, family whatever.

Ambulances serve the purpose of prolonging someone's life long enough to get to the hospital. They come equipped with trained staff and the ability to hopefully stem a life threatening injury or condition, just long enough to get them promptly to a hospital where a specialist can take over.

They are absolutely not for someone who has a small cut that won't stop bleeding or a fever.

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Ok_Concentrate4461@reddit (OP)

Lol, maybe they converted the temperatures to Fahrenheit for the American audience. As a science teacher, I agree that our system is stupid.

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Normal-Height-8577@reddit

Yeah, someone born and raised here would absolutely call for an ambulance. Also, if they're really in London, there's no way they'd try to take a neighbour's car - the traffic is a nightmare!

Check the author's bio. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find they're American.

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PetersMapProject@reddit

Ambulances may be free, but they are not infinite in supply. They are only meant to be for life and limb threatening emergencies where you can't get yourself to hospital.

A friend had a cardiac arrest last year, and called an ambulance when it was just at the chest pains stage. He was told it would be a 1 hour wait for an ambulance. He only survived by the skin of his teeth, after a police officer literally flagged down a passing ambulance shortly before his heart completely stopped.

That sort of thing happens because some people really do misuse the ambulance service for circumstances where they are not really necessary.

I have called an ambulance for a man who couldn't move after a fall, and a nonagenarian who was so unwell that the doctor we phoned was worried about sepsis. But a baby you can pick up and move very reasonably, I would take a taxi for that. I once drove myself to hospital with what turned out to be a badly broken arm.

Ambulances are one of those services where demand will always grow to match supply, so there is very much a sense that we must all use it responsibly.

We wouldn’t call an ambulance for a fever without concerning symptoms: ie rash, malaise, neck/head pain, severe vomiting-dehydration etc. 100f wouldn’t worry us, unless Calpol wasn’t working.

The only time I’ve called an ambulance was when my kid went to bed like normal- spiked a massive temp 42.c (108f) while asleep, got up and passed out with a heart rate of 180+. Ambulance crew couldn’t get their temp down with medication etc, they were having issues regulating heart and respiratory, so they were blue lighted in.

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Eskarina_W@reddit

I've called 999 in the UK once for a patella dislocation. Took an hour for the paramedic to come, dose me with gas & air, put my kneecap back to the front of my leg where it's supposed to be and give me morphine. He came alone and in a car, not an ambulance, because my injury was unlikely to be life threatening. I did need to go to hospital to be checked out though. He said if I could make it down the stairs with my partner's assistance he'd call me a taxi. If I needed to be stretchered, he'd call an ambulance but it would likely take a few hours. So I fully believe that if the patient isn't dying and can be moved safely, you are probably going to be seen quicker if you can make your own way to the hospital then if you call for an ambulance.

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Super_Ground9690@reddit

Ambulances are for life and death situations. A child with a fever is not that. TBH I’m not even sure that would warrant an A&E visit unless the child also had other symptoms.

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VirtualMatter2@reddit

Well, if it was 42, then yes. But a normal high fever like 40, no. I agree.

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FinnemoreFan@reddit

If you have a sick toddler and a neighbour willing to drive you to A&E - or indeed your own car - you’d absolutely drive there instead of calling an ambulance. You can then control how fast you get there. Who knows how long it would take an ambulance to arrive at your house? I mean, I understand they strive to be as fast as they can, but most people have either never or only very rarely called out an ambulance. In that situation - sick toddler, worried, car available - you’d trust the known of your own transport over the unknown, and get your child to the hospital under your own steam as soon as possible.

Last year, I had a serious medical emergency. It turned out to be a perforated duodenal ulcer, I suspected it might be a ruptured appendix, I knew very well it was very serious and I needed urgent medical attention. Even so, we called a local taxi rather than an ambulance, after a call to the NHS helpline got us an appointment at the hospital’s emergency department. It didn’t seriously occur to me or my husband to call an ambulance. At the time we lived in a very rural spot that was hard to find, and I think there was a real possibility that I could have died waiting for an ambulance to find our house!

Fortunately we don’t have to think about the cost of an ambulance. There isn’t one. But even so - there’s a social inhibition, a British desire not to make a ‘fuss’.

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KatVanWall@reddit

People don’t want to tie up ambulance resources that might be needed for someone who is quite literally dying on the spot.

(Of course the ambulance service does get some time-wasters. But the majority of the public aren’t like that.)

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romoladesloups@reddit

It depends when, where, and how urgent the call handler sees it.

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MrsValentine@reddit

It’s probably quicker to drive to hospital than it is to wait for an ambulance for a child with a high temperature.

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Mikon_Youji@reddit

We don't call an ambulance for every little thing. They're very busy and have limited resources.

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We only call an ambulance if we need urgent treatment to prevent death or loss of limb while getting to A&E. They are much more than a taxi to hospital, they are staffed by highly trained and skilled paramedics.

Vindscreen_Viper@reddit

Oh no their not.

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Inner_West_Ben@reddit

It’s to suit the plot.

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pm_me_your_amphibian@reddit

You call them when you need a medical team to get to you, fast, and give you emergency attention on the way to the hospital.

Something that is urgent but not emergent, you will be behind the more serious cases in the queue, so you will actually get to hospital faster by driving rather than waiting your turn in an ambulance.

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angels-and-insects@reddit

An ambulance isn't to get you TO the hospital, it's if you need care before / on the way to the hospital.

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Aggravating-Desk4004@reddit

My 90 year old dad collapsed and was on the floor of his house with a broken hip. The ambulance service told us he wasn't a priority and they could take hours.

Basically our health service is shit. People no longer call ambulances because they don't turn up.

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Neddlings55@reddit

Why do so many American TV shows and movies show people gagged with their hands bound at the front, yet the person never simply pulls the gag out? They can easily reach it.

Its fiction. It suits the plot.

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Pretend_Office_6101@reddit

Because the wife goes on to have an affair with the neighbour rather than a paramedic?

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misskittygirl13@reddit

They are free but can take forever. Sometimes in an emergency it is quicker to make your own way to hospital.

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chewmypaws@reddit

Because it is a work of fiction and calling for an ambulance wouldn't fit with the story arc.

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Crunchie64@reddit

Presumably because it fits the plot better.

Does the child have a fever because a pandemic is crippling the country?

Is the mother going to run off with or learn a dark secret from the neighbour?

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AliceMorgon@reddit

They can take HOURS. I once had a cafe call one after I started having a seizure, fell backwards onto the floor, and whacked my head hard on the tile. They were told it would be ELEVEN HOURS. In the end, one of the staff lay me down across their backseats and drove me themselves.

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That_Northern_bloke@reddit

Non urgent and probably not life threatening

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qualityvote2@reddit

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