Concern over 1,000 hours wasted responding to hoax 999 calls for ambulances in Yorkshire

A recent Freedom of Information request by Medical Negligence Assist found Yorkshire Ambulance Service received around 6,000 hoax calls in the last three years, wasting more than 1,000 hours of response time.

The service is already dealing with an increase in demand for its 999, NHS 111 and non-emergency Patient Transport Service, which is expected to continue to rise this winter.

Around 71,000 emergency 999 calls are expected to be made between December 16 and January 5, which equates to an average of 150 calls every hour.

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Nick Smith, chief operating officer for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “We are already seeing system-wide increases in demand, largely due to winter-related illnesses like flu and respiratory problems, adverse weather and a busier night-time economy. This will undoubtedly rise further over the next few weeks.

“We always prioritise our response to the most seriously ill and injured patients. The public can help with this by knowing when to call 999 and when another NHS service is more appropriate. If someone is seriously ill or injured, you should call 999 immediately. If not, please consider other healthcare options.”

In the last three years, the service has spent a total of 1,133 hours responding to hoax calls - equivalent to 47 days. 

Hoax calls are calls made to 999 when there is not a genuine emergency.

Between April 2021 and March 2022, the service received 2,257 hoax calls and responded to 1,381 hoax incidents face-to-face, wasting a total of 426 hours and 42 minutes of time.

The following year 2,087 hoax calls were made, with 1,165 incidents resulting in an in- person response from crews. The total time spent responding to the hoax calls was 329 hours and 48 minutes. 

In the last year a further 1,636 hoax calls were received, resulting 1,038 more face-to-face responses, wasting a total of 376 hours and 46 minutes. 

The ambulance service is re-iterated that calling 999 does not always mean an ambulance will be sent. All calls are categorised to determine the most appropriate response for the patient’s need.

In November 2024, 12,500 patients were dealt with by clinicians over the phone rather than receiving an ambulance response compared to 6,200 in November 2023, which also helps to relieve pressure on A&E departments.

Mr Smith said: “Quite often, an ambulance response and visit to A&E is not the best option for our patients. Everyday hundreds of our patients are being managed remotely by clinicians in our 999 call centre.

“We have also been working hard with our partners to develop pathways which means we can refer patients to an increasing number of alternative services which are more appropriate for their needs.”