EATING an extremely hot scotch bonnet chilli pepper is not for the faint-hearted, but those foolhardy enough to do so are being warned – don’t call an ambulance, it is not an emergency.

Yet that was what one person from Pontypool did in October last year, the emergency ambulance call log stating: “Tried to eat a scotch bonnet chilli pepper, face burning."

This was among 19,151 non-urgent calls received by the ambulance service in the past seven months, just 318 of which required an ambulance call-out.

And none of those call-outs resulted in a patient being taken to hospital for further treatment.

The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is reminding people not to call 999 and request its services unless it is a genuine emergency.

Other examples of non-emergency calls include one from Newport, also last October, from a person who wanted their leg-re-dressing, as they were “staying with friends without a district nurse”.

Worsening athletes’ foot, two cotton buds stuck in an ear, a sprained ankle from “dancing too much” and simply “feeling knackered” are other issues people sought help for from the ambulance service last year.

“Many of the patients we attend to as a result of a 999 call receive treatment from the ambulance service, but do not end up travelling in an ambulance,” said Richard Lee, the trust’s head of clinical services.

“They could be treated at home, referred to alternative care or might even decline treatment.

“The trust is taking steps to ensure that patients only travel to hospital when absolutely necessary and are referred on to the right part of NHS Wales where this is safe and clinically appropriate.”

He warned of the dangers of making 999 calls when it is not a genuine emergency.

He said: “While the majority of calls we receive via 999 are entirely appropriate, we also take some non-essential calls from people with colds, toothache, back ache and other minor conditions.

“Calls of this type put people’s lives at risk as the ambulance attending that patient is not available for a serious road accident, heart attack or stroke.”