“Help, my goldfish is drowning”

Colleagues have been thanked for supporting a public education campaign around the appropriate use of 999.

A drowning goldfish, an injured cat, a dead squirrel and a drunk man wanting a taxi were some of the bizarre ‘emergency’ calls that EOC staff have shared with the communications team so far this summer.

This was part of our ‘It’s Your Call’ campaign to make people think twice about calling 999.

They included the following calls:

• a man asking for an “animal ambulance” for a critically injured squirrel in north Cambridgeshire. This comes after the Trust received a similar call about a dead squirrel in Essex last year
• a drunk man outside an Essex nightclub who wanted a taxi
• a woman calling about a cat with a broken leg in north Cambridgeshire
• a child who called 999 and told a call handler in Chelmsford that their goldfish was “drowning”
• a call to an unconscious man in Bedford who turned out to be snoring in the back of a taxi.

Media Officer Adam Gretton said: “This is the third time we have highlighted these type of calls and many colleagues came forward to share their stories of the most inappropriate calls they have encountered.

“Whilst we will never be able to stop all inappropriate 999 calls, we hope sharing these with the public will deter some nuisance callers and educate some people about what the ambulance service is for and when to call.”

If you come across calls like this in the future, please email media@eastamb.nhs.uk with the details.

Published 5th August, 2016