A WOMAN who was concerned about her sick cat, and a man who was feeling tired while driving on the A1 and wanted a lift to hospital for a rest, both found the same "solution" to their problems - they dialled 999 and called for an ambulance.

Other "inappropriate" calls ambulance chiefs covering York and North Yorkshire have had to cope with have included crews being called to find a lost handbag, and to make a cold drink. One man even wanted to know where he could buy cigarettes on a Bank Holiday.

It is estimated that one in four calls made to Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service (TENYAS) are unnecessary, putting needless pressure on frontline resources.

A hard-hitting campaign, entitled Call An Ambulance For The Wrong Reason And Someone Might Die has been launched to encourage people to use the 999 service wisely.

It is particularly urgent to get the message across at the festive season, because that is when the ambulance service comes under most pressure - from both genuine emergencies and less "worthy" calls.

TENYAS chief executive Jayne Barnes said: "Inappropriate calls are a real problem because they divert emergency resources away from patients with potentially life-threatening, time-critical conditions.

"In October alone, the number of life-threatening calls received by the service increased by four per cent, so if we can reduce the number of inappropriate calls, this would be of great benefit to us. We don't want to deter people from calling 999 if it is a genuine emergency, but we need to let people know that there are a range of other services, like NHS Direct, their GP or pharmacy, which could be more appropriate to their needs."

Hundreds of posters are being distributed throughout the region to re-emphasise the message and banish misconceptions.

Jumping the queue at hospital accident and emergency (A&E) departments is believed to be a motive for many 999 calls.

However, patients are treated in A&E according to the urgency of their medical need, regardless of how they made their way to hospital.

Duty deployment manager Bev Richards, who is based in York Ambulance Control, said: "Every week we receive hundreds of calls from people who are obviously wasting our time and it's incredibly frustrating.

"But what many don't realise is that while a crew is dealing with a patient with a stubbed toe, they can't get to a patient in the next street with chest pains."

Updated: 10:27 Tuesday, December 07, 2004