Coronavirus: NHS "on its knees" because of people wrongly using emergency services
29 March 2020, 09:00 | Updated: 7 June 2023, 08:56
NHS worker needs public to be more understanding
An NHS worker phoned in to tell Richard Spurr that people are abusing the NHS emergency services during the coronavirus crisis.
Richard Spurr was wondering that if the British public will have a new found appreciation of the NHS after the coronavirus crisis, whereby NHS worker Sam noted that "the issue is that we're being used more inappropriately than we've ever been".
Sam told Richard that there are queues for 999 emergency services and waiting times at A&E are at an all time high down to people overreacting to issues they may have during this time.
"At the moment we are on our knees" because of the worries of people and the fear and anxieties they have, Sam told Richard.
Because of people being freaked out by coronavirus, she told Richard that "more than ever" the NHS is being used completely inappropriately.
Richard was curious as to who was abusing the services at this time, asking "is it mainly people saying that they think they have coronavirus?"
Sam revealed that most people calling 999 that believe they're infected with coronavirus are only on their fourth day of symptoms and so shouldn't be calling the NHS.
"What they're not understanding is that we're not testing at home anymore" Sam said, insisting that it is pointless for people to be calling emergency services during this time. The NHS worker told Richard the only condition that they'll be acting on emergency calls are when someone is on the brink of death and cannot cope at home.
"We're looking after people that might die on their way to hospital and need emergency care" she revealed to Richard. She pointed out that "people aren't understanding that's what we're here for" at the moment and just continue to abuse the service, making the reaction times much slower than they should be.
