'My playful cat is doing my head in', and other 999 calls...

[friendlybaby]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/8433783.stm

[Girlzmum]

I've worked in A&E and you'd be stunned at the things people come in with - constipation (no, why go to a GP for it), ear infection (the out of hours doctor is actually right across the road from us!) if someone gets drunk and the police are called guess where they're dumped to sober up! One that sticks in my head is a man who arrived in with a cut finger, he came in and the triage nurse told him that he just needed a plaster, actually got a doctor in to look at it and he agreed, it was not a deep or large cut at all, so they put a plaster on it and he went away. He came back in the next day because the plaster came off, was told there was a 4 hour wait as we were run off our feet, he said he'd wait. Then after an hour and a half cornered me and gave off serious stink about how he was being made to wait such an awful amount of time. Never mind there was a girl of 20 lying in resus because her dog had attacked her and punctured her trachea and they were fighting for her life - he had a cut finger to attend to. Seriously people can be incredibly stupid.

[bikemad]

Omg Colette id have had a hard time not belting him one in the mouth!!!!! Even J can put a plaster on!!!! Ive never rung 999 not even when ds broke his elbow...yes I took him to AnE but still went thru triage etc n waited his turn!!!! Dp has had 999 called for him twice once when he was knocked off his bike n another when he passed out in work n both times he felt bad for taking up their time....who in their right mind rings or goes in to ane for a cut or rings cos of sa playful cat ffs.

[Jen]

I just wouldn't have the patients to deal with idiots like that.