How to Use Your Ambulance Service

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) provides an accident and emergency service across the whole of Northern Ireland, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year. During 2005/06 we responded to more than 90,000 accident and emergency calls, as well as dealing with more than 37,000 urgent requests for transportation of patients by GP’s and transported more than 223,000 non-emergency carers and patients.

You can help NIAS and save lives, by ensuring the service is used appropriately.

If you need medical advice or treatment, there a number of options you can consider before dialling 999. These include;

Talking to your local pharmacist;
Visiting your GP.

If the situation is urgent, but not an emergency, make your own way to a hospital Accident & Emergency - if you do not have a car consider using public transport or call your local taxi firm. Going by ambulance will not reduce your waiting time.

If you call 999 for an incident that is not an emergency, you could delay someone in real need from talking to an ambulance operator, preventing them from getting an emergency medical response.

IN A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, YOU SHOULD STAY CALM, DIAL 999 AND ASK FOR “AMBULANCE”.

You will be connected to an Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) at Regional Emergency Medical Dispatch Centre.

You will be asked to provide the EMD with:

The telephone number you are calling from;
The address of the emergency;
What the problem is and exactly what has happened.

Once this information is given, an ambulance will be dispatched. However, the EMD will need some additional details, for example:

Are you with the patient?
Patient’s age and sex;
Are they unconscious?
Are they breathing?

The questions should be answered clearly and quickly and are asked to enable us to make sure the appropriate emergency units are sent. The questions will not delay help being sent to you.

You will then be asked questions relevant to the patient’s condition.

You will then be given instructions designed to safeguard the patient’s condition and safety until help arrives. In some cases, there are certain medical emergencies that due to their seriousness requires assistance to be given to the patient until help arrives.

In these types of emergencies, the EMD will relay specific clinical instructions for you to follow until help arrives.

These situations include:

Airway management for the unconscious patient;
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) eg chest compressions, mouth to mouth;
Clearing a fully obstructed airway on a choking patient;
Assisting with childbirth.

In these situations or where the patient appears unstable, the EMD will stay on the line with you until help arrives providing you with constant assistance and reassurance.

There are a number of things that you can do to help the ambulance crew before they arrive:

Turn on the outside lights;
Have your number on your door;
If you are calling from home or work, get someone to open the doors and signal where the ambulance crew is needed – this can save vital time;
Get out any medication the patient takes as this will help the ambulance crew – you could also place the mediation in a bag to go with the patient;
Lock away any family pets especially dogs!
Remember to stay calm. Ambulance crews are there to help and violence towards them will not be tolerated and may delay treatment.