The humble apology from NSW Ambulance and the Health Minister, following the death of an 18-month boy from Tregear who slipped into cardiac arrest while waiting for an ambulance on September 9, was welcome. And although an overloaded system may not have contributed to this particular tragedy, demand remains the greatest problem affecting ambulance response times.

While people are quick to blame ambulance services when things go wrong, one of the biggest factors slowing down the system is the enormous number of inappropriate emergency calls placed by the public. And it is doubtful one will ever hear an apology from a patient who has phoned 000 for a mild case of food poisoning, man-flu or a broken fingernail.

One of the biggest things slowing down the ambulance services: Inappropriate emergency calls placed by the public. Credit:Quentin Jones

During the recent bushfires in NSW, emergency calls for ambulances were the lowest they had been for a long time. Response times improved because more ambulances were available for critical emergencies. It is a phenomenon seen during previous major incidents, as people assume that ambulances must be too busy to attend less serious health complaints. As a result, people make their own way to hospital. Or they see their local doctor or wait at home and discover their symptoms miraculously resolve. This proves, to some extent, a difference between ''needing'' an ambulance because there's no other way, and ''wanting'' one because the service is there.

Most people are unaware that even without natural disasters or major incidents ambulance services are under enormous pressure daily. And the majority of emergency calls are not for emergencies at all. If only callers had the same attitude to calling ambulances during normal weekdays as they do when they know there's a disaster happening, demand would go down, response times improve and more lives would be saved.