999 frequent callers dealt with as man rang 400 times in 2017

ONE person called 999 for an ambulance nearly 400 times in one year.

Figures also show that 10 people collectively called the emergency service 3,284 times in 2017 – an average of 300 times each. Now the Welsh Ambulance Service has saved more than 1,200 call-outs by some simple changes to tackle frequent callers.

It has come up with new ways to help deal with people who call them out more than five times in a month or 12 times in three months.

The worst case dialled the ambulance service almost 400 times in 2017. Overall last year, the “top 10 most prolific callers in Wales” collectively made 3,284 calls to the Welsh Ambulance Service. Of those calls, 1,217 of those were either dealt with by a clinical support desk or NHS Direct Wales.

By being referred to a more appropriate service for their needs, it prevented an ambulance crew from being dispatched unnecessarily.

One former frequent caller said he now realises his actions were “wrong”.

James, from the Vale of Glamorgan, was responsible for 13 calls to the service in just over a month because he wanted help with stomach pain, often brought on after heavy drinking.

He told the BBC: “I’d phone at least once a week, sometimes less and sometimes more, but only when I’d had a drink. I was trying to get rid of the pain by drinking but it was only making things worse. Nine times out of 10 it was the alcohol, there’s no good lying about it. With help I’ve faced it and I’m now over it.

“Now I think back – what if a child was dying, and I was on the phone to the ambulance service and took that child’s place?”

After being referred to his GP, they discovered he had a hernia and he was offered treatment and counselling.

James said it helped him “turn his life around”.

Robin Petterson, the Welsh Ambulance Service’s frequent caller lead, said that before the changes an ambulance was sent to every caller, regardless of how many times they had phoned.

But he said the system had changed dramatically and frequent callers are now flagged up on the system. He said: “It was very clear there was an issue and we could see the amount of time it was taking our ambulance crews to resolve these calls.

“So we decided to look further into why they were ringing 999 and whether or not people like GPs, the police, or anyone these people were known to, could become part of the solution.”