A member of the public made three 999 calls over more than 20 minutes after spotting an injured man soaking wet and “bleeding profusely” in Ipswich town centre, but says neither police nor an ambulance attended.
The concerned member of the public found the injured man by following his footprints (Photo: Contributed)
The East of England Ambulance Service says its clinician liaised with police but that without sufficient location detail, it was not always possible to safely dispatch a response. Police have no record of the incident.
Why it matters: The incident raises questions about how emergency services respond when an injured person is mobile and has no fixed address — and what happens when neither service believes the situation falls within their remit.
What happened: The caller says he first spotted the man at around 16:05 on Tuesday, 3 June, being soaked by the water fountains outside the Corn Exchange. He followed the man’s footprints and found him entering businesses on St Nicholas Street and Queen Street.
He made his first 999 call at 16:12, requesting both police and an ambulance. He says he was told on the call that, as the man had injuries, he should contact an ambulance — because police are not medically trained.
He called 999 again shortly after to request an ambulance, but says he was repeatedly asked for a postcode before a crew could be dispatched. He looked up the postcode himself and gave IP1 1SW to the call handler.
By his third call, at 16:26, the man had moved through several businesses — including Bella Napoli and a premises called Zest — and was last seen entering Sainsbury’s before crossing to Tacket Street car park.
“He’s wandering around now bleeding and soaking wet and none of the services I called cared,” the caller said.
The caller says that at one point, while trying to keep the man in a fixed location inside Zest, he was escorted out of the premises by another customer. The man subsequently left and moved towards the Butter Market, before heading through St Stephen’s Lane and into Sainsbury’s.
The caller says he relayed the man’s changing location to both police and ambulance call handlers throughout, and that the final 999 call handler appeared “frustrated at the gap in care.”
What they’re saying: An East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) spokesperson said: “Our priority is to get help to patients as quickly as possible, and call handlers are trained to gather the key information needed to do this safely.
“We use a range of methods to identify location, including landmarks, mobile data and tools such as what3words. A postcode is helpful but not essential, and we will work with the best information available, including when someone is moving.”
The spokesperson added: “The ambulance service does not carry out area searches, as this is a police responsibility, though crews can be directed to a defined area if appropriate. In this case, police had already been contacted and our clinician liaised directly with them, in line with standard practice. Without sufficient location detail, it is not always possible to safely dispatch a response while ensuring the most urgent patients are prioritised.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk Constabulary said: “We can only see calls that are turned into CADs (where a police response is required). If there appeared no immediate threat to life or evidence of criminality, then the ambulance would likely have been deemed the service best suited to respond.”
But it didn’t.
The bottom line: A concerned member of the public spent more than 20 minutes tracking an injured, bleeding man through Ipswich town centre and made three 999 calls — but says no help arrived. Suffolk Constabulary said it was likely deemed a matter for the ambulance service, which didn’t respond. It is not known how or when the man received the care he needed.
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