Who to turn to?

I read yesterday with a mixture of mirth and great disbelief the latest reports of people calling 999 who might have been wasting the time of the Emergency Services. On the off chance you might not have read the article, I feel compelled to share some of the stories with you. One man rang in asking for help to find the girl he had met on holiday. One woman rang in to ask if anybody had handed in her stiletto heel. Another man called because he had the hiccups. Yet another involved a child ringing up to report a missing snowman. Given the staggering stupidity of these stories, is it any wonder that A and E departments get such a bad press with waiting times of 5 hours or more frequently being reported? There should be a system whereby the 999 answering service can divert these calls through to specially trained counsellors. This might just work provided the counsellors are paid an inordinate amount of money. Winston Churchill was once said to have met the Irish Premier and the two men discussed the problems facing their respective countries. Churchill remarked that the situation in the UK was serious but not hopeless. In response, the Irish Premier said that the situation in Ireland was hopeless but not serious. I think the latter comment was the more appropriate when assessing the latest problems reported to be impacting on the long suffering NHS!