The trivial reasons hypochondriacs and panic merchants are calling paramedics revealed

Bad dreams, being swooped by magpies and “almost” bitten by cats are among the crazy reasons panic merchants and pests are calling paramedics.

Paramedics Alex Ricco, Mei Griffin and Josh Tait are among those frustrated by the number of non-emergency calls to Ambulance Victoria. Picture: Josie Hayden

Victorians are calling triple-0 for paramedics in search of rapid antigen tests, because they had a nightmare or if they can’t get to sleep.

In other cases of ridiculous time wasting of the critical emergency response lines, a caller sought assistance from Ambulance Victoria as they hid under trees in fear of being swooped by a magpie, and a patient withdrawing from alcohol — who was trying to relax by listening to music — called paramedics because they couldn’t work their Spotify playlist.

A panicked mother recently requested an ambulance thinking their child had cyanosis around the lips, before realising their kid had just eaten blueberries.

And a person who almost got bitten by a cat demanded a lights and sirens response because it feared the animal had rabies.

Someone sought urgent medical attention after deliberately pricking their finger with an acupuncture needle to “test if it was sharp”.

The increasing amount of unnecessary calls are clogging the already-strained system and are directly linked to the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) call-taking crisis, senior Ambulance Victoria officials say.

Paramedics have been called to help a person get their Spotify playlist working, and also after being ‘almost’ bitten by a cat. Picture: AFP

In a bid to relieve some of that pressure, Ambulance Victoria will today launch a new campaign pleading with the public to only dial triple-0 in an emergency.

About one in five calls do not need an immediate response, with more than 45,000 callers between October and December last year not requiring an ambulance at all.

Ambulance Victoria chief operations officer Anthony Carlyon told the Sunday Herald Sun every call for assistance that wasn’t an emergency could cost lives and placed significant strain on crews to reach those who need help the most.

“Every time someone calls triple-0, and if that’s in a magnitude that prevents ESTA getting to a caller, there’s no doubt that unnecessary calls not only delay some calls being answered, but if that call isn’t heard at all, we can’t dispatch an ambulance,” Mr Carlyon said.

“So there is a direct link.

“If you call triple-0 when it’s not required, that critically impacts our resources.”

When people call for an ambulance, they are immediately connected to a Telstra operatorwho then attempts to transfer the call to a call taker at the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority who undertake primary triage through structured questions.

Calls are then actioned depending on urgency, with some callers transferred to an expert triage practitioner within Ambulance Victoria to conduct further questions to determine what level of care is required.

In some cases, a taxi will be organised to transport a patient to the nearest hospital.

Everyday, about 700 calls to triple-0 are transferred to highly-trained paramedics and nurses working in Ambulance Victoria’s secondary triage service, which avoids dispatching an emergency ambulance to about 20 per cent of calls.

Mr Carlyon said not everyone received a “lights and sirens” response, which is often met with frustration, anger and abuse from callers.

“Highly trained medical professionals are able to make these decisions. You are in expert hands even if you do not receive an ambulance,” he said.

Ambulance Victoria says repeat callers, ringing for trivial reasons, are causing havoc. Picture: NewsWire

While many Victorians have deferred care throughout Covid, leading to a spike in demand now, repeat callers are also wreaking havoc on the system.

A Geelong region resident told the Sunday Herald Sun his middle-aged, unemployed neighbour called an ambulance multiple times a week, most weeks, and on every occasion was sent home in a taxi from hospital within hours.

On some occasions, the male neighbour called an ambulance twice a day, and there were times that two ambulances, or a MICA paramedic unit and ambulance, arrived, the Geelong tradesman and father said.

On nearly all occasions leading up to the ambulance’s arrival, the man would “prepare” by moving his car from his driveway — to provide easy access for the ambulance — and ask one of his neighbours to feed his cat.

Sometimes this routine occurred hours before the man “suddenly collapsed” in his lounge room, usually on the couch, or developed heart attack symptoms.

In the meantime, the man would go about his normal business, and often after being sent home by the hospital in a cab, would order a pizza.

The neighbour said the man would often ask residents in the street if they had seen the ambulances arrive.

He said residents of the short street were concerned if they ever urgently needed an ambulance, it would not rush to their address, believing it could be the serial ambulance pest.

Mr Carlyon said instances like these were incredibly frustrating for paramedics.

“(There are) many callers that frequently call for an ambulance to use the service far beyond what is reasonable,” he said.

“When you wrap all those up in totality, they do impair our ability to respond.

“If we’re used for the right purposes and correctly, people get one of the best services in the world.”