Man called 999 to report injured seagull in his house

Another dialled for an ambulance after having ‘very strange’ dreams, as NHS trust reveals the year’s most inappropriate calls

A woman whose finger nail had come off, a man having bad dreams and a man who found an injured seagull in his house all dialled 999 for help, ambulance bosses have revealed.

Details and audio recordings of the 10 most ridiculous calls were released by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust in an effort to discourage time-wasters over Christmas

The list requests for help included a man who said he was sweating while using his computer. One woman dialled 999 to report her dog had died, while one man called to ask emergency workers for a lift home.

Another woman told the emergency operator her angry flatmate had punched a wall, while another woman wanted to complain ambulance sirens were “too noisy for human ears”.

The trust disclosed the details – without naming the callers – to remind the public to only call 999 in a genuine emergency.

Injured seagull

The man who called about a wounded bird told the operator: “I’ve just got home, and I’ve found a seagull in my house.”

The operator replied: “You’ve found a seagull in your house?” The man said: “And the seagull is bleeding. You know? It’s a baby one.”

“Sir, we don’t deal with animals, we deal with humans,” the operator responded.

Broken fingernail

The woman told emergency staff: “I’ve had this before basically. My whole nail has come off, and it’s bleeding. And they told me last time I needed to get an ambulance.”

The operator replied: “The 999 service is extremely busy, and priority is being given to patients who are assessed as immediately at risk of dying.”

Strange dreams

The operator asked the caller: “Right, so what’s happened to you? What are your symptoms?”

The caller said: “I keep having very, very strange dreams.”

Sweaty computer user

The male caller said: “I’ve got a computer in my bedroom, which when I switch it on causes me to sweat. So it’s dripping off the end of my nose.”

“Okay, you say, it’s excessive sweating, is it?” asked the operator.

“Yeah,” the man replied.

Asking for a lift

A male caller said: “Basically I phoned ambulance earlier on, and now I’ve been told to phone you again to see whether I can get help on getting home.”

The operator responded: “Getting home? No, you need to speak to the hospital. We’re the ambulance service, we don’t take people home sir.”

Demand for the emergency service is likely to peak between 22 December and Boxing Day, said the trust. Staff are expecting to deal with more than 3,100 incidents a day.

David Fletcher, head of the trust’s clinical hubs, said: “The 999 service is only to be used for extremely urgent or life-threatening emergencies, and we urge people to use it wisely. During peak periods, like the festive season, every inappropriate call has the potential to put a life at risk and delay a response to a genuine emergency.”

He added: “Please think carefully before calling 999 and ask yourself, “Is it a real emergency?””