People asking if they should have fish fingers for lunch or because their friend refused tea are among the 999 calls made to Oxfordshire’s ambulance service.

Every year South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) receives hundreds of hoax calls and thousands more that are perhaps well intentioned but not emergencies.

These included someone calling because their stair lift had broken and to change a loved one’s incontinence pads.

Demand for ambulances in the county has doubled in the past decade. Bosses believe the public are using 999 as a “safety net”.

Between 2001 and 2002, SCAS received 34,000 calls, but by 2011/12 that had risen to 68,775. On top of last year’s figures were some 270 hoax calls.

SCAS spokesman James Keating Wilkes said many people called an ambulance when it was not necessary.

He said: “We would urge the public to think twice before dialling 999.

“Every time an ambulance is called inappropriately you could be taking it away from a life-threatening emergency.”

According to government targets, 75 per cent of emergency call outs, so-called ‘red 8’ calls, should be responded to within eight minutes.

While overall the county is meeting its target, in South Oxfordshire, just 60 per cent — 7,426 per cent of the district’s 12,378 calls — were seen within the time frame.

Although the county is hitting its targets, 15,340 had to wait more than eight minutes in an emergency situation last year.

Dr Peter Skolar, chairman of the Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee (HOSC) — the county’s watchdog — said the problem with rural areas was historic. He said: “The problem we have got is that it is all or nothing. It is either within eight minutes, or it fails.

“What I have asked for SCAS to show me is how many have got to the call out in eight minutes 15 seconds, and how many have made it there in eight minutes and 30 seconds and so on.”

SCAS operations director John Nichols said the public could help with demand by considering other avenues of care.

He said: “High demand for urgent care across the health and social care system means the 999 system is used by the public as a safety net when patients are either unable or unsure how to access other parts of the NHS.”

Mr Nichols said the trust was trying to recruit more community first responders (CFRs), volunteers trained by the ambulance service to help in rural areas. They attend the scene while an ambulance is on its way.

Already SCAS has around 1,500 responders who are trained in basic life-saving skills, including use of an automated external defibrillator.

Interested in volunteering as a CFR for SCAS? Call 0800 587 0207 or email cfr@scas.nhs.uk SOME OF THE CALLS... * A caller asked if she should have fish fingers for lunch * Someone asked for an ambulance because her relative had declined a cup of tea, which was unusual for her * A lady said she had fallen, but when the crew arrived she wanted her mattress turned over * No credit to phone GP * On New Year’s morning a young man phoned for an ambulance to take him home because he was too drunk to walk * A lady phoned 999 as her husband needed to use the commode * Calls to help a cat * A call to turn the heating down * Someone’s stair lift had broken * A call to request help to move someone from one room to another * Caller wanted someone to speak to.