Ambos hounded by inappropriate dog call

Paramedics were left stunned after getting a call to a patient having a seizure in Templestowe, which turned out to be a dog.

An ambulance crew responding to a case discovered the nine-year-old male ‘having a seizure’ was actually a dog. Picture: David Geraghty

Paramedics were sent “lights and sirens” to a child having a seizure – that turned out to be a dog, just one reason why the union has called on Ambulance Victoria to address problems they say increase workloads.

The crew who responded to the Templestowe case discovered the nine-year-old male “having a seizure” was actually a dog when they arrived just before midnight on July 5, the Victorian Ambulance Union has said.

The triple-zero operator was never told it was a dog and the Herald Sun understands they followed Ambulance Victoria’s set script for suspected seizures, which typically includes questions on the patient’s age, breathing and whether they have a brain tumour.

Union secretary Danny Hill slammed the case as evidence of AV’s “risk-averse” call-taking system that sends paramedics to unnecessary jobs and the need for further public campaigns.

He said the agency should do more to educate the community – such as on their television show and social media – on when to call triple-0.

“AV are punching themselves in the face by not communicating to the public about when it is appropriate or inappropriate to call an ambulance,” he said. “There are clearly people in the community who are misinformed.”

Paramedics cannot treat animals and Melbourne has at least eight vets with a 24-hour emergency phone.

Other past nuisance triple-zero calls have included requests for a lift home on a night out and people scratched by their cat.

An AV spokeswoman said while dog “cases like this one are thankfully rare”, non-urgent calls can keep paramedics from cases “where an ambulance could mean the difference between life and death”.

“We understand the love a person has for their animal, however calling triple-0 is definitely not appropriate,” she said.

But Mr Hill said the strict-script system used by AV to question and triage callers was also an issue, with other countries moving away from it “for the very reason it creates unnecessary workloads”.

“This is an extreme case, but it is not unusual for emergency ambulance crews to be used inappropriately,” he said.

“Not enough work is being done to limit the dispatch of ambulances to patients who actually need them.

“The call-taking system looks for the worst case scenario at the expense of the most likely scenario.

“That extreme risk adversity creates massive additional workload for paramedics to the point that is getting ridiculous.”

While this case of the dog, did not occur during a period of high demand,; one in every five calls to triple-0 do not need an ambulance. Between January and March 37,000 calls were referred to secondary triage.

An Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority spokeswoman said their operators provide the community “the urgent response needed in their emergency”.

This is not the first time AV has had to ask the public to leave triple-0 for emergencies, with the agency forced to launch a campaign in last year.

WHAT WOULD A CALLER REPORTING A SEIZURE BE ASKED?

– How old are they?

– Are they male or female?

– Are they awake?

– Are they breathing?

– Have they had more than one fit in a row?

– (If female) are they pregnant or have they been pregnant in the past four weeks?

– Are they diabetic?

– Are they epileptic?

– Do they have a history of stroke or brain tumour?

Originally published as Ambos hounded by inappropriate dog call