Just Plain Ruff Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5001021,00.html PARAMEDICS responding to emergency Triple-0 calls in Sydney's west are instead being used as de facto taxi drivers to local shops. Older residents are the main offenders - using their pensioner entitlements to secure a free ride in an ambulance instead of paying a taxi fare to go shopping, ambulance sources have confirmed. An ambulance ride to Mt Druitt Hospital costs $290, but the fee is waived for pensioners and other entitlement card holders. Insult to the sick: Most bizarre triple-0 calls Demands: Paramedics want CEO Rochford sacked Paramedics have watched in horror as patients miraculously recover from headaches and other feigned ailments to go shopping across the road. "You get them to the emergency department and they walk out the door. They are the same patients, you know who is going to do it," a source said. "Once the ambulance (crew) has cleared paperwork, they leave and see the person crossing the road and going to the shopping centre. An ambulance is an instant free taxi with a pension (entitlement) card." The first shops, including an Aldi supermarket and clothes shop, are 150m away from Mt Druitt Hospital and a Westfield mall is a few blocks away. A series of other nuisance calls have been revealed by the ambulance service which declined to comment about the Mt Druitt shopping scam. Ambulance officers were called to one woman complaining of a cut foot in Redfern only for paramedics to find she had beetroot in her slipper. A spokeswoman said shift workers called ambulances complaining they were unable to sleep while other calls included people suffering stubbed toes. Women regularly call complaining of period pain and another person pushed an emergency alarm just to check an ambulance turned up, the service said. Opposition health spokeswoman Jillian Skinner said she was aware of abuse similar to Mt Druitt around the state. She called for serial abusers to be charged the equivalent of a taxi fee. Sydney West Area Health is unaware of hospital patients going shopping. Parents of chronically-ill children who rely on Mt Druitt Hospital were horrified to learn of the emergency scam. Sarah Jones, from Willmot, has been told to call an ambulance as soon as her asthmatic 16-month-old son Ethan Kirkham has breathing problems. He spent three days in Mt Druitt hospital this month with asthma and bronchitis. "It is just wrong and it upsets me greatly," Ms Jones said. "My son can have an attack any time." Title edited for appropriateness. - Admin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/stor...5001021,00.html while other calls included people suffering stubbed toes. She called for serial abusers to be charged the equivalent of a taxi fee. Stubbed toes been there done that. Taxi fee bull crap. Make them pay full ambulance charge or go to jail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Older residents are the main offenders Women regularly call complaining of period pain Well, at least their memory's functioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itku2er Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Ruff he was lost booking his trip to lesbo greece.................. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 Ruff he was lost booking his trip to lesbo greece.................. :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: Its Lesbos, geez at least insult me with proper spelling. :twisted: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itku2er Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Its Lesbos, geez at least insult me with proper spelling. :twisted: What fun is that spenac :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 That’s just Sydney... Will leave them over in the corner Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMT6772FL Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 We give out free ambulance rides all the time down here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 hey guys dont believe everything you read in the paper...... it it wasnt sensatioal it wouldnt sell the service is in dispute with the staff over the number of crews rostered to do the work the work load has almost trippled in the past 10 years and the crew level has remained the same the 'strike' action was costing the service over a million dollars a week. so the paper had to run a story to make it sound really bad (and it was from unconfirmed sources) and by you guyus believing it it worked. yes we have people that abuse the system, but what service doesnt? in australia we have the right to FREE medical (including ambo transport on treatment if on a pension or concession card) unlike the states. so some do abuse it. but like i said iat the begining of this post dont believe everything in the papers stay safe craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Use their Medicare and they'll pay out $200 (or whatever it is) and forbid ambulance company from charging more, no matter what the complaint is . . . so yup, free taxi ride. If you were to let them know that it'd be cheaper to take a taxi next time ($30-$40) rather than $800 or so, they're reply would be "nope, Medicare pays for it, ambulance is free". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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