speeding ticket for emergency doctor call out

bestpud

I think it is worth a try as the worst scenario is he gets the points and fine anyway.

As I understand it, they could argue he was not driving safely if he was thinking more about the patient than the rules of the road?

Legally, he is in the wrong but lots get away with it on these grounds, so I'd appeal.

In response to Conor's post - I always thought emergency vehicles aren't exempt from speed restrictions, even when blue lighting?

ETA: just looked it up and they are exempt, but it is not automatic.

Conor_3

Indeed. Some, for example "blood" transporting cars, are not exempt on blue lights.

greenface

Conor wrote: »

Indeed. Some, for example "blood" transporting cars, are not exempt on blue lights.

so why the blue lights then

tinkerbell84

greenface wrote: »

so why the blue lights then

to get other vehicles out of the way so that they aren't held up :rolleyes:

goldspanners

i know of some blood transfusion driver to have used thier blue lights in some less than emergency situations, like beating the football traffic to the match when in a rush.

it gets abused regularly.

soolin

Conor wrote: »

If I need medical assistance that urgently, it'll be a 999 call. Obviously it wasn't life threatening as the GP didn't call an ambulance, and they weren't answering a 999 call so the need to speed didn't exist.

I would also take this matter up with the PCT. If they are using GPs to answer calls that are that much of an emergency then they are acting incorrectly. I work for the NHS and would be very concerned that GPs were being used in a life or death situation like this where they have a limited ability to deal with an emergency and where a fully equipped paramedic with a back up ambulance would be more appropriate.

They no longer use the term emergency doctor, they have 'out of hours care' and GP surgeries and/or the emergency services should be responding to an emergency call by despatching a paramedic and an ambulance.

Most of the GP surgeries local to me carry a standard message even before you reach a receptionist. It states that for all emergency care you need to phone 999 and then give you the opportunity to push buttons for either a standard GP appointment or a receptionist to book an out of hours visit.

So OP, take this back to the PCT , if they put your OH on emergency calls they should take the responsibility.

soolin

vikingaero wrote: »

Let's hope you never need an emergency doctor.:rolleyes:

I have done and I waited 2 hours for an out of hours GP who immediately called an ambulance and blue lighted me to hospital. He was furious at my OH who thought that I was merely a bit peaky and unable to get to walk to the car to get to the surgery and made a point of saying that a GP call was inappropriate and an ambulance should have been called.

clk299

Also sometimes it is not a '999' call necessarily, or the ambulance is not the MOST APPROPRIATE person to be there yet someone needs to be there urgently (and not stuck in traffic). For instance: I am a community midwife and have been police escorted (flag them down and explain and they'll get you round the traffic!); we are called to home births as a matter of urgency, or BBAs (birth before arrival of midwife) and in those cases the paramedics will often wait till the midwife arrives to make a decision on the case as it will then be the midwife's call. Or there are other things we are called to in the community where being stuck on the Old Kent Road for an hour is not appropriate, yet neither is a 999 ambulance call. GPs have the same problem- there are 'urgent GP but not 999' calls that are appropriate to use speed/bus lanes etc.

Unstoppable_2

A GP is not allowed to exceed the speed limit unless they are given special exemption and are proceeding under a green light. They will have been required to undergo a training course before doing this.

Spartacus_Mills

dmg24 wrote: »

You'll get used to Conor!

Is there a capability in these forums to put this complete and utter spanner on ignore ?