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Ambulance watch: a day in the life of three emergency call centres | Ambulance watch: a day in the life of three emergency call centres |
(35 minutes later) | |
What happens after you dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service? | What happens after you dial 999 and ask for the ambulance service? |
Do you get sent an ambulance to take you directly to hospital with the blue lights flashing, or are you asked to hang up and contact your GP instead? | Do you get sent an ambulance to take you directly to hospital with the blue lights flashing, or are you asked to hang up and contact your GP instead? |
Meet the individuals who have to make these decisions. | Meet the individuals who have to make these decisions. |
On Tuesday we are following the twitter streams of three emergency call centres - North West, West Midlands and East of England ambulance services - to find out. | On Tuesday we are following the twitter streams of three emergency call centres - North West, West Midlands and East of England ambulance services - to find out. |
Some of the calls taken today so far have are code red - meaning the patient is seriously ill and needs urgent attention. These should get an ambulance within eight minutes. | Some of the calls taken today so far have are code red - meaning the patient is seriously ill and needs urgent attention. These should get an ambulance within eight minutes. |
Others are amber or green - less urgent with a target response time of 19 minutes or an hour, respectively. | Others are amber or green - less urgent with a target response time of 19 minutes or an hour, respectively. |
But some calls are inappropriate. | But some calls are inappropriate. |
North West Ambulance Trust @NWAmbulance tweets: "just advised a patient with toothache to contact NHS 111 for further advice". | North West Ambulance Trust @NWAmbulance tweets: "just advised a patient with toothache to contact NHS 111 for further advice". |
NHS 111 is the number to call when you need medical help fast - but it's not an emergency. | NHS 111 is the number to call when you need medical help fast - but it's not an emergency. |
The next call North West Ambulance Trust picks up is from a man who has dialled 999 because he's drunk. | The next call North West Ambulance Trust picks up is from a man who has dialled 999 because he's drunk. |
West Midlands Ambulance Service has kept a tally of where the calls it's received so far today have ended up. | |
Out of 1,490 emergency calls, just over half ended up being transported by ambulance to A&E. | |
Around 40% were visited by a paramedic but advised to remain at home, and 4% were given advice solely over the phone. | |
To follow the action live, follow #team999. | To follow the action live, follow #team999. |
We'll bring you updates throughout the day on our Facebook page BBC News #nhswinter. | We'll bring you updates throughout the day on our Facebook page BBC News #nhswinter. |