Deviant, the problem with charging for time wasters is it gives Mrs Smith another reason not to call 999 about her chest pain; or the scared broke teenager not to call 999 after a bike crash and perhaps risk life changing results; or the anxious new parents delaying the suspected meningitis call; or even my mother deciding that she can deal with my dads hypo herself (as she does 99.9% of the time)… In all those cases the ambulance crew, nurse and Dr would all probably agree it WAS a legitimate call, even if Mrs Smith just had heartburn, the teenager had minor concussion, the baby just had nasty virus and my dad was sitting up by the time the boys in green arrived. BUT the caller doesn’t know that when they make the decision to dial – a charge will delay some genuine callers taking a critical step.
On the other hand, the drunk mate may see 50 quid as a trivial cost; the regular time waster will realise there is nothing left for the bailiffs to take and the guy with a twisted ankle after a week will expect even better service because, “I’m paying for this”.
And often the person receiving treatment wasn’t the one who made the call and may not go with them to the hospital, so it becomes even harder to pinpoint who should be fined.
So be careful what you wish for…