What happens when you dial 999 for an ambulance?

We asked student Beth Alston to report on her trip to the Control Centre at Norwich.

As soon as you walk though the door of the Ambulance 999 call centre you are overcome by the noise. Everyone who is  wearing a headset is focused on one of the three computer screens in front of them and talking in a calm voice to a caller on the other end of the line.

The first thing I had to do when I got there was to be shown what went on and where. I sat at the supervisor’s desk while he went through what all the different computer screens showed, and how an operator decides what priority (category) a call should be given (i.e. a baby choking or a road traffic accident would be category A, wheras a child falling over and poking their eye or an attempted suicide would be a category B.) There are several different call desks at the centre, each for a different county. However, some have two people for each such as Norfolk, this is because we have a higher accident rate than most other counties. Mainly because where we are most incidents happen along the coast.

An operator has three different computer screens on their desk each telling them different things. One showing where calls are coming in from, this is a touch screen and operators must assure their hands are clean before using them because they are very sensitive pieces of equipment. Another screen shows a list of incidents where an ambulance or helicopter has been called out. It shows what the accident is and where it’s taking place as well as being colour coded taking into account what category it has been given ( i.e. Red=Category A). The last screen is important because after a call has been tracked a map comes up on screen showing where they are and what ambulance is nearest to it. This helps the operator work out how fast the transport will be there, and tells them when a caller should be able to see or hear it.

When a call comes in it is picked up straight away. Callers are asked to state their location firstly, this is purely to make sure where they are however because the phone they are ringing from is already being tracked. Operators cannot understand what is being said if the caller is distressed and screaming so they must calm them down before they can extract any information from them. When the caller has told the operator the situation they can immediately decide what action needs to be taken. The form of transport (if any) is dispatched immediately to the scene and although the caller is asked more questions by the operator it does not delay an ambulance in any way. The questions are asked purely to gain more information for the crew to aid them in what to do when they arrive at the scene, although callers are often worried operators are wasting time when a patient is in need of immediate care. All emergency calls and their information must be noted on the database immediately.

There is another type of call that can be taken by ambulance emergency services and that is from the police or fire headquarters. These three must operate on a good relationship, for example, if there has been an incident where an ambulance has been dispatched to a scene of an attack and the suspect is assumed to be armed and dangerous the police will be called by Ambulance HQ and are asked to dispatch a squad car. Or, if there has been a fire and people have been injured, the fire services contact the Ambulance call centre for a Vehicle to be sent out for emergency aid.

There is one final type of call taken at the ambulance call centre, and this is from G.P’s (general practitioners). They call in from their surgery to book an ambulance to transport a patient to a hospital. The ambulance must be dispatched in the designated time an operator is given by the G.P which is often around an hour. If an ambulance is late, a patient’s state may deteriorate beyond help. If a G.P is not available then a secretary may ring control to book the ambulance for a patient.