Ambulance called to injured bird after communication breakdown

A “language barrier” led to an ambulance service responding to a call to help an injured bird- not a woman as they originally thought.

The bird is the word. Picture: Mark Wilson

The London Ambulance Service received a call to help an injured bird and responded because what can only be described as a miscommunication.

A senior paramedic as well as two cycle responders from St John Ambulance attended to an injured bird.

Senior Paramedic Rachel Lack who attended the scene was perplexed at first.

“When I arrived I saw three men and a woman standing around a pigeon. I asked if they had called an ambulance for the pigeon and they said they had,” she said.

“They were surprised to learn that the ambulance service is for humans not animals.”

The LAS said the patient had originally been believed to be a woman.

“A language barrier meant the call handler in the control room believed the patient was a woman — not a pigeon — in need of help,” a spokesman said.

The incident has created some public chatter following a tweet from the LAS Tactical AdvisorChris Hawkswell.

We have responded to a 999 call for a 'bird collapsed' in #Southall... Turns out it was an actual bird #UseUsWisely pic.twitter.com/uVfUWDuKFn

— ChrisHawkswell, EP07 (@LAS_TacAdvisor) April 12, 2015

Director of Operations Jason Killens said “incidents like this are very rare” and reminded the public “to use us wisely and contact our colleagues in the RSPCA for advice on animal welfare.”