Paramedics attending an emergency call have shared photos of the moment they were unable to take a patient to hospital because drivers had blocked in their ambulance.
Birmingham-based Simon Wong and his crew, who work for the West Midlands Ambulance Service, were unable to stretcher their elderly patient into the ambulance due to the “inconsiderate parking”.
“Attended a 999 call,” Wong wrote on Twitter on Tuesday, attaching images of the incident.
“When returning to the ambulance with the patient to go to hospital, cars had blocked us in front and back - despite us parking on double yellows with our rear light flashing.”
“It says keep clear on the ambulance for a reason,” he added.
The patient was eventually taken to hospital after members of the public found the owner of one of the cars, who moved the vehicle.
Wong added: “Driver said they were allowed to park there as their relative was disabled and didn’t understand what the problem was [with] parking so close to the back of the ambulance.”
A spokesperson for the West Midlands Ambulance Service called the incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning, “hugely disappointing”.
“We would hope it would be common sense to people to avoid parking so close because it has the potential, as was the case in this situation, to delay the patient getting to hospital,” they said.
“Before deciding to park to close to our ambulance we urge people to stop and think how they would feel if it was their family member delayed getting to hospital in an emergency because someone had blocked one of our vehicles in.”
The episode follows a series of incidents involving ambulances in the UK.
Kirsty Sharman, 26, was charged with a public order offence in connection with an abusive note left on an ambulance in Stoke-on-Trent telling paramedics to “move your van from outside my house”.
The handwritten message read: “If this van is for anyone but Number 14 then you have no right to be parked here.
“I couldn’t give a shit if the whole street collapsed.”
Sharman was ordered to pay a total of £285 in fines, surcharges and court costs earlier this month.
But just days later, one warm-hearted stranger hit the headlines after leaving paramedics a message thanking the emergency service team for “saving lives day in, day out”.
“Without people like you, we would not know what to do! So thank you! Really, thank you,” the note read.