THE 999 call and the rapid response of the emergency services are features of modern life that we are all too likely to take for granted — until we need them.

The entire system is, however, a triumph of organisation, efficiency and dedication and a vital safety net for all Islanders.

We should, therefore, take very seriously indeed the problem which now appears to be undermining the effectiveness of at least one element of the Island’s emergency cover, the Ambulance Service. Hoax calls might be less prevalent than in the UK, but the control room is having to deal with increasing numbers of callouts for the most trivial of reasons.

The figures show that more than ten per cent of 999 calls to the Ambulance Service are ‘inappropriate’ — a term which covers everything from completely bogus appeals for help to incidents in which unprincipled people seem to have cynically used ambulances as a way of getting from A to B.

Apart from making it clear that those who make malicious or fraudulent 999 calls can be prosecuted, the authorities cannot do much to prevent the misuse of the emergency services. Islanders in general, on the other hand, can do a great deal to make sure that the limited resources of the police, ambulance staff, firefighters and coastguard personnel are not stretched without due cause.

The obvious question that people must ask themselves is this — is my call really necessary? It doesn’t require a huge leap of imagination or a giant intellect to understand that minor injuries or ailments which leave the affected person capable of making their own way to a doctor or to the General Hospital don’t merit the rapid attention of an ambulance and paramedics.

This elementary principle ought to be quite enough to leave the emergency control rooms and the teams they call into action unburdened by nuisance calls. That said, Islanders must also realise that the services on which they rely are anything but infinitely elastic. There are, for example, only two ambulances and crews on duty between 10 pm and 7 am, a level of cover which must not be compromised by unnecessary pressure.