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London paramedics respond to emergency call for ‘bird collapsed’

The call taker thought the ‘bird’ was a woman collapsed and gave emergency care instructions until the paramedic arrived

LONDON — A London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedic flew to the aid of a collapsed woman on Sunday. An LAS statement said the paramedic found “it was a pigeon that needed tweetment.”

Senior Paramedic Rachel Lack was spitting feathers when she arrived on scene to find it was a wounded bird of the feathered variety that she’d been called to help.

“When I arrived I saw three men and a woman standing around a pigeon. I asked if they had called an ambulance for the pigeon and they said they had,” said Lack.

“They were surprised to learn that the ambulance service is for humans not animals.”

A language barrier meant the call handler in the dispatch center believed the patient was a woman - not a pigeon - in need of help.

“Fortunately incidents like this are very rare but we’d still like to remind Londoners to use us wisely,” said Jason KIllens, LAS Director of Operations.

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