Only 27.9% of the calls made to the 903 service in 2016 were major emergencies that necessitated immediate intervention. About 75,000 cases represented health problems that could have been solved through primary care. According to the National Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Assistance Center, the population does not know when the Emergency Service must be called and when the problem can be solved through primary care, IPN reports.
The patients often insist on being served by the Emergency Service and without delay, even if their health problem is not a medical emergency. To have their demand satisfied swifter, these often resort to threats or warnings that they will inform the mass media.
Moreover, the Emergency Service said there were 4,391 cases when the patients refused to be examined and offered medical assistance when the ambulance arrived. The hoax calls are another problem that prevents the ambulances from reaching the places where assistance is really needed. A number of 995 such calls were recorded in 2016. In 6,853 cases, the ambulance teams travelled to addresses where there were no patients, wasting important resources. There were also 618 cases when practically healthy persons asked for emergency medical assistance.
