It’s not difficult to spot the real emergency

Friday 5th December 2014 – 8.45am – Claire Brown.

You don’t need an ambulance if your pet is ill. If you need a lift home after a night out in the pub, call a taxi.

Sadly, these are some of the types of calls West Midlands Ambulance Service has to deal with; cases that can delay us helping people whose lives are genuinely at risk.

Throughout today we will be releasing clips from real 999 calls, highlighting the difference between appropriate and inappropriate calls.

Jenny Cocks, the Trust’s Emergency Operations Centre Commander in Brierley Hill, said: “We receive about 3,000 calls a day but unfortunately not all of these are appropriate for the ambulance service and sometimes people do forget that 999 is for life threatening injuries and illnesses.

“Our call assessors also have to deal with verbal abuse and hoax calls which is disappointing when all they want to do is help people in their hour of need.”

The audio will be available to from our WordPress site which can be accessed by visiting http://www.officialwmas.wordpress.com

It will also be released through our Twitter, Facebook and YouTube sites, where you can find us by searching for officialwmas.

Ends.

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