Ratter: it could have been a junior member of staff (trainee, new member of staff, etc) under the mentorship. It would have been unprofessional to give him a bollocking in front of the public and patients, but once the job is over words may have been said. Alternatively, he could have been an ***, and he will get knocked down a peg at some point.
The Other Half: asking who the PM is is part of a standard set of questions we use to ascertain a confusional state. We are not looking for David Cameron. Instead, we are seeing if they turn round and say Winston Churchill or Kermit The Frog to see if they are confused.
As for the A&E thing, we are under instruction to take a patient to the nearest APPROPRIATE hospital. Some hospitals will not accept trauma, some will not accept cardiac. Just because there is a hospital, doesn't mean they would take her.
With regards to the "calling 999 everytime someone falls", a fall will not rate highly unless there are other complicating factors. There are only so many ambulances on the road, and invariably they are always busy. Would you prefer that a Cardiac Arrest, RTC, or Febrile Convulsion is left unattended because, someone is lying on the floor? If she is on the floor then you have two options, wrap her up in a quilt, make her comfy, and wait; or pick her up yourself.
Finally, with regards to your "pay their wages" tripe. I pay tax, so I pay my own wages, plus I pay council tax so I also pay yours! It's attitudes like this that really grip me. We, as a service, are overstretched, underfunded, and treated like crap. Still, we have to put up with abuse from relatives "How dare we have to wait, my problem/ailment is far more important than whatever else you could have been at. I pay your wages after all!!"
LCG: That's a nice bit of vitriol there. It shows a complete lack of understanding of the pressure that the ambulance service is under. If a crew has suggested a taxi for a patient it is (probably) because that is what they feel you are using them for. Do you have any idea how many breaks are missed, and how many shifts overun due to misappropriate use of the ambulance service? And the worst culprits are other Health Care Professionals who really should know better.
Rant over
;)