A SINGLE private address in Headington was the source of almost 250 emergency calls for an ambulance in one year, but resulted in a person being taken to hospital just twice.
The shocking figure was revealed following a Freedom of Information request by this paper into the Oxfordshire properties behind the most 999 calls to South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) requesting medical assistance between November 1, 2018, and November 1, 2019.
A 'private address' could refer to a residential property, shop, pub, restaurant, or care home, with only the postcode recorded by SCAS.
Half of the top 10 list were in Oxford, starting with the Headington address, which was responsible for 243 calls.
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This resulted in operators judging the situation to be serious enough to send out an ambulance on 38 occasions and twice someone then being taken to hospital.
The next highest was 192 calls from a single private address in the neighbouring Oxford ward of Lye Valley.
See the full lists of top 10 999 and 111 callers below
That address was behind 192 calls but had the highest actual ambulance attendances at 189, as well as hospital admissions on 113 occasions.
The same address was also responsible for 156 calls to the non-emergency NHS 111 number.
Phillip Simmonds, a Community First Responder, who has worked with SCAS for more than 20 years, said there were addresses that were well known for regular calls to 999 and 111.
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He added: "A lot of these 999 calls come on a Friday night and over the weekend when doctors surgeries are closed.
"It's better we go out than a full ambulance crew though."
Dr Ed Capo-Bianco, Urgent Care Lead at Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group, which is responsible for services across the county, said: “We advise people to phone 999 only in a medical emergency which is when someone is seriously ill, injured or their life is at risk.
"If someone has an urgent medical problem and isn’t sure what to do then we would encourage them to call 111."
He said they can then speak to a fully trained adviser on the phone and depending on the situation will get help to find out what local service can help, be connected to a nurse, emergency dentist, pharmacist or GP, get a face-to-face appointment if needed, be told how to get any medicine to get and get self-care advice.
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Dr Capo-Bianco added: “The winter months are a particularly busy time for health and care services and there are some precautionary steps you can take to help prevent becoming ill.
"Having a flu vaccination, washing your hands after being out and not missing your normal regular medications can help prevent illness.
"If you do fall ill, a well-stocked medicine cabinet and advice from your local pharmacist or NHS 111 can help."
He said the service could now be accessed online via a mobile phone, tablet or laptop at NHS.111.UK.
The health chief added: “There will be times when people become seriously unwell and seeing a healthcare professional is the right thing to do.
"But by taking a few simple steps and putting together your winter plan you may help yourself to avoid admission to hospital.”
Top 10 private addresses in Oxfordshire for 999 ambulance calls
Called Attended Someone taken to hospital
1. Headington 243 38 2
2. Lye Valley 192 189 112
3. Horspath 96 25 8
4. Osney 92 37 10
5. Banbury 71 20 7
6. Littlemore 69 54 7
7. Abingdon 67 6 0
8. New Headington 66 65 21
9. Witney 57 54 29
10. Banbury 57 54 40
Top 10 private addresses in Oxfordshire for NHS 111 calls
1. Abingdon 363
2. Headington 214
3. Witney 172
4. Lye Valley 156 (Same address as the 999 calls)
5. Botley 149
6. Oxford 128
7. Northway 92
8. Grimsbury 84
9. Banbury 82
10. Wheatley 79
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