I think alot of it comes down to Public Education. We bang on about it all the time, but do we really ever get anywhere? At home in Ireland we have the situation where folks having an MI will ask that the ambulance parks away down the road as they dont want the fuss/their neighbours seeing/or better still dont come at all and I'll get a cab.... Whereas here folks call an ambulance (on their mbl as they are passing by, not even stopping to wait with the pt whilst they give their details) for Trampy Lou in the street who is simply sleeping! If the Public dont know when it is appropriate to dial 999 then things like the "I need an ambulance for my kids broken toe" are simply going to continue. I want to be an ECP, and when I get there I will make damned sure that if I get to a call and it wasnt appropriate for them to have called us, they'll know!