Protocol when going to ED

[Tinks]

That being said, I have heard enough times (and from my DH's observations when working as security in a hospital) that due to the relationship between the paramedics and the hospital staff that people coming in ambulances will get tended to faster - so if I was ever worried and thought that I need that extra speed in the system, I would call an ambulance for that reason.

This is actually untrue. The way they get to the hospital has nothing do with it, everyone is given a score upon arrival according to their symptoms, and are seen accordingly. Someone who was driven in with asthma symptoms would be seen long before someone brought in by ambulance with a broken leg. It sometimes appears that people who are brought in by ambulance see dr's quickly but in reality, they wait just as long as people in the waiting room, they just wait more comfortably.