I've probably not told you this, but I tend to get sad when I see an ambulance in full flight. Because, however it turns out, someone is probably having a very bad day. Someone is frightened. Someone is heartbroken. Someone is praying to anyone or anything they can think of to keep their loved one alive.
So. Whoevr that ambulance was racing to this morning. I was thinking of you. Whoever you are, I pray that right now you and your family are together, relieved and happy for a second chance.
Use it. Be safe.
Which leads me to my next point. This makes me so incredibly angry.
Ambos get hoax 000 call over baby
Tuesday Apr 1 12:17 AEDT
Ambulance workers in far north Queensland are seething over a "disturbing" hoax phone call on April Fool's Day.
Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman Andrew Christie said a Cairns woman rang 000 around midnight and screamed that her baby had fallen off the bed and stopped breathing.
The woman received CPR advice from the Cairns ambulance centre operator and gave the impression she was following instructions, Mr Christie said.
He said the woman hung up twice but continued the instructions when the ambulance operator called her back.
The hoax was only discovered when two ambulance vehicles arrived at the woman's White Rock residence.
Two intensive care paramedics were on their way from Cairns Base Hospital but were called back after the hoax was uncovered.
The matter was referred to police and the woman could now face criminal charges.
It is not known if the call was intended as an April Fool's prank.
Mr Christie said hoax calls to emergency services were not uncommon but said Tuesday morning's call was "particularly insidious".
"This type of call is disturbing to everyone involved, particularly when you've got a baby involved and to find out it's a hoax later on is really distressing for the call-taker," he told AAP.
"They put that effort, professionalism and calm manner into the call and it's an emotional toll that they take."
Mr Christie said hoax calls potentially put lives in danger.
"They are pulling valuable resources away from people who might need it," he said.
How.Dare.She. How dare she scare people that way? I sit here and I imagine the emergency centre operator's heart racing as she hears of a baby in danger. The sweat beads on her forehead as she delivers her instructions. The bitter taste of adrenalin as she waits for the paramedics to reach her patient.
The sick, foolish feeling in the pit of her stomach when they call her back to tell her it was a joke. A freaking joke. How dare she?
I imagine the racing heart, the beads of sweat, and the terror as someone waits for that siren to signal that help has arrived for their loved one. The fear as the ambulance takes longer and longer to arrive, because it has been diverted to somewhere else. Who knows. Maybe noone's life was in danger this morning because of this repulsive prank. But it could have been.
How dare she?
As an emergency medical dispatcher with the Queensland Ambulance Service, I am infuriated that someone could get away with such a crime. We get prank calls all the time, with nearly all of them being kids. The school holidays are extremely popular for these young criminals, but for an adult to even joke about these things, and put people's emotional states at risk and risk the lives of the paramedics who attended the scene after going with lights and sirens on, is not only dangerous, but criminal. Throw the book at this woman and let's try and set an example.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree with you more. I hope that this woman is faced with the full extent of the law. Whatever that is.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that any of you ever have to be subjected to such idiocy and thoughtlessness.
Thank you for the job you do. Thank you for being a lifeline to people who need one so desperately.
I had to call 000 last September in my most terrifying moment ever. My son had stopped breathing and my partner was performing CPR on him. The ambulance thankfully arrived in 10mins and all was ok. This would not have been the case if the ambulance was pre occupied with another call and imagine if it were a Hoax call.
ReplyDeleteThat woman clearly has no heart.