Ambulances are vehicles equipped to provide emergency care to sick or injured people, and to get them to a hospital if needed.
Dr Simon Sawyer is a Registered Paramedic, and the Director of Education at the Australian Paramedical College.
He says there can be a wide range of circumstances when someone should call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.
“If somebody is having something like a heart attack, or they've got unexplained chest pain or chest tightness or something like that, we'd recommend calling an ambulance. If somebody had suddenly lost consciousness or was suddenly weak or numb or paralysed, maybe they couldn't speak properly, or [is having] seizures, traumatic injuries, so falls from large heights where you've injured yourself. Obviously, anything violent, like if you've been stabbed or shot, perhaps you've been burnt, which is particularly important to call the ambulance for children.”
Calls to Triple Zero are free and can be made 24 hours a day, seven days a week from any landline, pay phone or mobile phone.
Lindsay Mackay is the Interim Executive Director of Operational Communications at Ambulance Victoria.
She says not all calls to triple zero result in an ambulance being dispatched.
People with private health insurance policies with hospital cover may choose to go to a private hospital.
Medicare does not cover the cost of ambulance services.
In most states and territories in Australia, ambulance services will charge you a call-out fee, a per kilometre fee or both, explains Ms Mackay.
However, Dr Sawyer says there is a relatively inexpensive way to ensure that you’re covered for ambulance services.
“Contact your state ambulance service. You can go through their website, or you can call them. You don't call triple zero. You would call the ambulance service and ask whether you fall into the category of needing a membership or not. And they will be able to advise you. They're not expensive at all. They're usually around $50 a year for a single person or around $100 for a family.”))
Ms Mackay says if you don't speak English well, you can use an accredited bilingual interpreter at any stage of the process.
