999 callers ask to speak to Santa

A 999 call from a person who asked to speak to Santa was among the most outrageous reasons for ringing Yorkshire's ambulance service.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said one in four 999 calls made to them was unnecessary.

Examples included a call about a sick pet, a request for a taxi home, a request to help turn off a television and a report of a broken fingernail.

The service has urged people to use 999 appropriately over the festive period.

Other inappropriate calls were from a person asking for help to find a lost handbag, someone asking where they could buy cigarettes on a Bank Holiday and the opening times of GP surgeries and pharmacies.

Diverting resources

Operations Director John Darley said he did not want to deter people from calling 999 in a genuine emergency, but unnecessary calls put needless pressure on front-line resources and was extremely costly.

He said: "Inappropriate calls are a real problem. They often divert emergency resources away from patients with potentially life-threatening, time-critical conditions.

"And if resources are already tied up with inappropriate calls, we might not be able to get to these people who urgently need our help."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6199225.stm