Panadol call-out one of many frustrating Bendigo paramedics

Last year 94,000 unnecessary calls were made to ambulance statewide.

They tied up resources and risk the lives of those who needed more urgent medical treatment, according to Ambulance Victoria’s Loddon group manager Tony Walsh.

“I remember attending a case once where someone had called us for a child and when we arrived at the house, the problem was that they had run out of children’s Panadol,” he said.

“There have also been cases across the state where paramedics have been called to people whose cat has scratched them, or to people who wanted a lift home from a night out.”

“Paramedics are also called to less urgent cases such as someone who has hurt their shoulder playing football or someone who has a minor burn to their hand.”

While some cases of triple-0 misuse might sound funny Mr Walsh said the potential impact of those calls could be serious.

Unnecessary calls were a growing problem. In 2015/16, calls for ambulance grew by 5.7 per cent, while the population of Victoria grew at a rate of just 1.7 per cent. 

The Victorian government this week launched a new advertising campaign to reduce the number of non-emergency calls made to triple-0.

The advertising campaign featured the story of Will, whose life was saved by local and Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance paramedics. 

Will’s life was saved because a MICA paramedic was available and not tied up with non-emergency calls.

Mr Walsh said there were times people should call triple-0, such as when they had chest pain. Other times another approach was more appropriate.

“This could include visiting your GP, getting a family member, friend or colleague to drive you to hospital, or ringing Nurse on Call for advice,” he said.

And for those who thought they might be seen quicker if they arrived at hospital by ambulance, Mr Walsh had some bad news.

“This simply isn’t true. The community needs to understand that the severity of your condition determines how quickly you are seen at hospital and is decided by a triage nurse,” he said.