Person claiming to be in Hollywood among string of ‘non-urgent’ 999 calls over Bank Holiday weekend

A person claiming to be on LA’s Hollywood Boulevard before hanging up was among a string of “non-urgent” 999 calls made in Wales over the Bank Holiday weekend.

More than 4,200 calls were received by the Welsh Ambulance Service over the three-day weekend, up three per cent from the same weekend last year.

While the service said more than 370 calls (nine per cent) were immediately life-threatening “red calls” – almost a fifth (19 per cent) were non-urgent “green” calls.

Among them was someone who said they had lost a toenail and someone who had gashed their shin by kicking a bike, as well as the bizarre Hollywood call.

The ambulance trust is now appealing to the public to use its services wisely as it recovers from a busy period.

Lee Brooks, the trust’s director of operations, said: “We rightly prioritise patients that are the sickest or most severely injured.

“If you’re not in imminent danger of death, you could wait longer for our help in periods of high demand – potentially several hours – and you could also be directed to help without an ambulance being sent.

“If you’re unwell but it’s not a serious emergency, the best thing to do is take one of our online symptom checkers on the NHS 111 Wales website.

“You’ll answer a set of questions which will help you decide what to do next, be that to visit a pharmacy or GP, administer self-care at home, visit the emergency department or call 111 or 999.

“Taking some ownership and using our service responsibly will mean that more of our precious resources are available for those who need us most.”

Ahead of the start of a new school year, the trust is also asking the public to continue to take precautions to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Lee said: “We look around the rest of the UK to assess how Covid-19 is spreading as this could provide signals about potentially what might unfold in Wales.

“There has been a rapid rise in Covid-19 cases in Scotland, and whilst that could be for a number of reasons, schools restart in Scotland much sooner than here in Wales.

“With the re-opening of schools comes increased interactions, so it’s important that the public continue to play their part to halt a further spread, particularly now as we edge toward winter which is usually very busy for the NHS.

“The Covid-19 vaccine remains the best line of defence to protect yourself and others and also helps to reduce your risk of getting seriously ill or dying from Covid-19.”

Welsh Government is asking families and learners to continue to follow guidance on isolating, testing and vaccination to minimise the risk of the spread of Covid-19 in education settings:

• Get the vaccine if it’s offered to you.
• Maintain regular handwashing.
• Any staff or learner with symptoms of Covid-19 – however mild – should stay at home and book a PCR test at their closest test site.
• Staff in primary schools – and staff and learners in secondary schools and colleges – without symptoms should take two lateral flow tests three days apart during the week leading up to their first day back. If the test is positive they should self-isolate and book a PCR test.
• Going into the new term, staff in primary schools and staff and learners in secondary schools and colleges not showing symptoms should continue to take regular rapid lateral flow tests twice a week and report the results online.
• Learners in Year 7 and above should continue to wear face coverings on school and college transport.

For up-to-date Covid-19 guidance, visit the Welsh Government website.

Main image: “Iconic Hollywood Sign” by Alex88 Thanks for 212 Million Views is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0