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this post was submitted on 28 Aug 2024
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I 'member seeing some Conservative Chud on Reddit arguing with people about how it's actually good that ambulances are so expensive, otherwise people might use them as a free taxi to the hospital AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY FUCKING ARE
:edit to add: OF COURSE I'm not saying that everyone should be entitled to a free ambulance ride to the hospital for every medical requirement. What I'm saying is that if you do need one, it shouldn't bankrupt you. Here in the UK it's getting increasingly difficult to get an ambulance if you feel you need one, so most people tend not to bother and just get driven in, or get told by the operator at 999 that it might be a long wait, so to go to hospital under their own steam if possible.
But if we do get an ambulance, we don't have to take out a mortgage.
But the point is, whatever your take, an ambulance is LITERALLY a taxi to the hospital. That's the only place they go.
It's just not really true, when I broke my foot (as a Canadian) I didn't really consider an ambulance, because I didn't need stabilizing or healthcare on the ride over and i probably didnt want to go to the ER over UC during the height of covid. I just hopped in an Uber, which got me there faster, why would i want the whole gurny and flashing lights. There are certainly people who would have called an ambulance in my situation (and plenty of situations where a broken foot warrants an ambulance too) but there are also plenty of rich Americans who would do that too.
I think the whole point is that the option should be available to people and not bankrupt them in the process. If you break your foot and don't want an ambulance great but if some other dude does and wants the ambulance he should be able to take the option and not pay 4500 dollars for the ride.
I totally agree, I object to the idea that people will just needlessly waste ambulance resources.
I'm sure someone can come up with a plan to deal with frivolous calls while still not bankrupting people in need right?
Yep, it’s a felony to even call the emergency number frivolously.
Here in the UK you can be prosecuted for calling an ambulance unnecessarily. As a result, not many people do it. If we're calling for one, chances are it's because we need one.
Broken foot and we're not alone on a mountain somewhere? We'll make our own way to A&E, thanks. Having a heart attack? You gotta know we're hitting 999 and demanding an ambulance.
And yeah, of course there are people who try it on because they think their special, or they're having a real bad mental health time, but we have pretty highly trained operators who know how to sift through the calls and triage them appropriately. It's not often that one of our ambulances gets to a frivolous call.