The Welsh Ambulance Service have revealed the most inappropriate calls made to 999 throughout 2021.

More than 470,000 calls were made to 999 in the last 12 months, including people who phoned concerning:

  • Eating a mouldy tomato
  • Getting their plaster cast wet
  • A paper cut
  • Diarrhoea
  • Asking for ‘a lift’ to the emergency department

The Welsh Ambulance Service has asked people to only call 999 in a serious or life-threatening emergency.

Chief Executive Jason Killens said: “Our ambulance service exists to help people who are seriously ill or injured, or where there is an immediate threat to their life.

“Non-essential calls represent nearly a quarter of our total 999 calls, and time spent dealing with these could be time spent helping someone in a life or death situation.”

The following are real quotes from people calling 999 to the Welsh Ambulance Service in the past year:

  • “Basically, I had a piercing a few weeks ago in my ear. Everything’s been fine but last night I woke up and the piercing had gone. I can’t find the piercing and it feels like it might be in my ear drum. Normally I would go to A&E myself, but I don’t actually have any money. A lift to A&E would be amazing.”
  • “My neighbour came here and she gave me a sandwich, cheese and tomato. Anyway, I feel quite sick now. I looked at the tomatoes and there’s mildew on them.”
  • “I was mucking about with my plaster cast and it’s coming apart. I don’t know whether to get a taxi or an ambulance.”
  • “Basically, my mum drank apple vinegar but mixed it with water and lemon. Now she has diarrhoea.”
  • “Oh, hi there. Basically, I’ve got my hand in a cast. It’s been in there for three weeks and I’ve got it wet. It’s not an actual emergency, I just need to get to hospital.”
  • “What it is, right, I’ve got different medication and I don’t know whether I can take these or not now. I don’t want an ambulance, I just don’t know if I can take my meds or not.”