4 ms·

Here in the UK, there has been a major campaign to try and reduce the usage of ambulances and emergency departments. Many of our ambulances literally have "this

Here in the UK, there has been a major campaign to try and reduce the usage of ambulances and emergency departments. Many of our ambulances literally have "this is not a taxi" written on them. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5c/ff/1e/5cff1eac4bef3b52f76d3ca92b041bec.jpg https://i.pinimg.com/originals/5c/ff/1e/5cff1eac4bef3b52f76d... Because it's free to use, a lot of people call ambulances when they really don't need them. Women in the early stages of an uncomplicated labour. Young people with minor injuries. Elderly people who want a repeat prescription. Discouraging these people from abusing the service without putting off people who are genuinely in need of an ambulance is a complex and delicate task. The US healthcare system is clearly an unmitigated disaster, but our single-payer utopia has a different set of problems.

orcdork 9y ago
Your example is the result of years of government failure to provide adequate funding and support to the health system, not some kind of fantastical moocher, using ambulances for no reason.
- DanBC 9y ago
  Not sure why you got downvoted, what you say is true. People sat similar things as GP about A&E - "the problem is all the people who use it who shouldn't". No. Those people are easily triaged and sent away. The problems with A&E are all the people who need a hospital bed who spend hours on a trolley in a corridor.
jacquesm 9y ago
> Women in the early stages of an uncomplicated labour. That's taking a bit of a shortcut there. You don't know if a labor is uncomplicated until it is done and it can go from 'uncomplicated' to 'life threatening' in the space of a heartbeat.
- jdietrich 9y ago
  London Ambulance Service policy states that ambulances should not to be dispatched to women in the early stages of labour unless there are known risk factors. It's a massive waste of resources to send two trained personnel and a fully equipped ambulance to act as a taxi, just in case something goes wrong en route. http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/talking_with_us/freedom_of_information/classes_of_information/idoc.ashx?docid=086b56da-f121-4234-8841-29c0879fb288&version=-1 http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/talking_with_us/freedom_of... Childbirth is not a medical emergency.

orcdork 9y ago

Your example is the result of years of government failure to provide adequate funding and support to the health system, not some kind of fantastical moocher, using ambulances for no reason.

DanBC 9y ago
Not sure why you got downvoted, what you say is true. People sat similar things as GP about A&E - "the problem is all the people who use it who shouldn't". No. Those people are easily triaged and sent away. The problems with A&E are all the people who need a hospital bed who spend hours on a trolley in a corridor.

jacquesm 9y ago

> Women in the early stages of an uncomplicated labour. That's taking a bit of a shortcut there. You don't know if a labor is uncomplicated until it is done and it can go from 'uncomplicated' to 'life threatening' in the space of a heartbeat.

jdietrich 9y ago
London Ambulance Service policy states that ambulances should not to be dispatched to women in the early stages of labour unless there are known risk factors. It's a massive waste of resources to send two trained personnel and a fully equipped ambulance to act as a taxi, just in case something goes wrong en route. http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/talking_with_us/freedom_of_information/classes_of_information/idoc.ashx?docid=086b56da-f121-4234-8841-29c0879fb288&version=-1 http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/talking_with_us/freedom_of... Childbirth is not a medical emergency.