A hoax 999 call claiming a patient was in a critical condition was made in Sutton Coldfield placing ambulance staff at risk during dangerous driving conditions.
After snow fell solidly, carpeting Sutton and making roads hazardous on Sunday (December 10), West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed it received a call from a mobile in the town at 9.31pm that night.
A woman said that there was a patient ‘who wasn’t breathing’ and when the call handler asked if it was a child or an adult, the woman hung up.
A call handler for the ambulance service then rang back – but it went to voice mail. And they then rang again and a man answered and asked who was calling. When he was told it was the ambulance service he put the phone down too. A further call went straight to voice mail.
Given the nature of the initial call, West Midlands Ambulance Service sent a Sutton Coldfield Community First Responder – a volunteer, helping out to try and save lives, and an ambulance, in ‘appalling’ road conditions, which included heavy snow and ice.
When they arrived at the address which the mobile phone was registered to, those at the property denied any knowledge of ringing 999. The ambulance service called one more time and as the call was not answered, a message was left. Resources were then stood down.
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A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: “It is extremely frustrating that one of our crews and a volunteer would have to put themselves at risk to get to a potentially life threatening call only to find it was a hoax.
“A community first responder and an ambulance went to the scene through some appalling road conditions.”
Sutton Coldfield Community First Responders tweeted: “Emergency response all driving in terrible conditions for no reason.”
And the call received universal condemnation from paramedics.
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Sam Grimson, who operates from the Erdington ambulance hub, said: “Awful anyway but to risk someone's life driving in these conditions for a hoax. Disgraceful.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service’s specialist Hazardous Area Response Team said: “Terrible waste of time and recourses not to mention the risk to the responder all for a hoax 999 call!”
While former Erdington paramedic and now HART member Peter Bowles tweeted: “This takes the biscuit! I've responded to some 999 calls today that did not justify an ambulance & were left at home but a hoax call is even worse!
“LOOK OUT THE WINDOW! We have to drive on blue lights in this weather - don't put us & other emergency services at unnecessary risk.”
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