South Western Ambulance asks public to use 999 wisely after busiest day
The service had its busiest day on record during the summer heatwave and is urging careful use of 999 before the bank holiday.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
South Western Ambulance Service has asked the public to think carefully before dialling 999 this bank holiday weekend, after recording its busiest day ever during the summer heatwave when it received more than 4,000 calls in a single day.
A reporter spent a 10-hour shift with a crew in Taunton to illustrate the pressure the service is under. The shift began with a blue-light response to a property in Minehead where a man had activated his personal alarm and was no longer responding. On arrival the patient was fine; the alarm had been set off in a test but the ambulance service had not been stood down. Crew members Lee and Sophie said this happens often and can take up over an hour of ambulance time.
The next job was diverted to a care home where a resident had fallen and hurt her knee. Staff had called 999 because she could not stand and her leg was swelling. It took an hour for her to finish lunch and be taken to hospital. While the crew were assigned to that job they heard radio broadcasts for category one emergencies in the area, but had to focus on their current patient.
Later the crew responded to a woman complaining of heart palpitations, 20 miles away. It was the second time in 12 hours she had called, but nothing wrong had been found. The final job was to a man with chest pains and severe stomach pain who had cancer and had not seen a medical professional for months. He was taken to hospital. The crew considered it a necessary call.
By the end of the shift the crew had handled four cases, none of which turned out to be life-threatening emergencies, but which the crew described as a fairly standard day. The ambulance service is urging the public to consider whether they really need an ambulance before calling 999 this weekend.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One |
|---|---|
| A personal alarm test call triggered a blue-light response that consumed over an hour of ambulance time. | |
| The crew handled four non-life-threatening cases in ten hours. | |
| The emergency service received over 4,000 calls in a single day, its busiest day ever during the summer heatwave. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The report took a first-person, embedded approach by spending a full shift with an ambulance crew. It focused on the volume of non-life-threatening calls that still tie up resources, using specific examples to illustrate the pressure. The tone was factual but sympathetic to the crews, ending with a direct plea to the public.
- “We get there and the patient is fine The alarm had been activated in a test but the ambulance service hadn't been stood down”
- “It can get frustrating if you start to overthink it when you're on duty”
- “Our 10-hour shift is done. We've handled four cases None of which turned out to be life-threatening Emergencies for the ambulance crew it's felt like a fairly standard day”
Broadcast Timeline
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