A MAN dialled 999 and demanded to be taken to hospital because he had toothache.

It was one of a rising number of inappropriate calls to emergency services over Christmas that put people's lives at risk.

Now Kent Ambulance NHS Trust is considering introducing a 'no-send' policy, currently on trial in London, to try to reduce the number of non-emergency calls burdening its service.

The trust's chief executive Hayden Newton says it is important the people of Kent use the ambulance service properly and use NHS Direct when their problems are not life-threatening.

He said: "Christmas is traditionally a busy time of year for the Trust and whilst we do not want to deter anyone with a genuine emergency from calling us, I do ask that people think twice before dialling 999.

"One of the examples I have is where we received a 999 call in the Sittingbourne area at 3am on a Saturday morning from a normally fit and well middle-aged adult demanding to be taken to A&E because he had toothache.

"The appropriate course of action for this patient would have been to call NHS Direct on 0845 4647 and request the appropriate self-care advice that can be taken until the morning.

"There is not an on-call dentist at A&E and therefore he would have had to wait until the morning to see one anyway.

"The ambulance service is not a free taxi service."

The London ambulance service recently introduced a "no-send" policy where ambulances are not sent to cases where it is considered clinically unnecessary to do so.

Mr Newton added: "Clearly if we continue to receive a significant proportion of inappropriate calls we will have to seriously consider introducing this policy too."

Every time a crew attends a call, it costs the ambulance service about £200 and potentially puts someone else's life at risk.

Kent Ambulance Trust wants to encourage people to call NHS Direct unless their case really is an emergency, or even get someone close to them to drive them to hospital rather than calling an ambulance.

Operations manager at Sittingbourne ambulance station Philip Crow says people are being influenced by inaccurate portrayal of the ambulance service in TV dramas.

He thinks if people call NHS Direct first they could sometimes solve their problems a lot quicker.

He said: "Generally speaking we find there is an abuse of the ambulance service but that is not necessarily the fault of the public.

"When people see Holby City or Casualty, they think that by going into A&E they will be seen much quicker, but that is not the case.

"We need to look at how we can portray the service in a factual light.

"Every individual's case is the most important thing to them at that time but experienced medical practitioners (at NHS Direct) may see it in a very different light."