Ambulance service celebrates International Control Room Week
The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is marking International Control Room Week, to highlight and give thanks to the dedicated teams who work in the Trust’s Emergency Operations Centres in Exeter and Bristol.
The Emergency Operations Centres are the first point of contact to the ambulance service for people experiencing a medical emergency.
Teams working in the Emergency Operation Centres include:
Emergency Medical Dispatchers - trained call handlers who are responsible for answering 999 calls, providing initial triage and life support instructions whilst recording critical patient information - sometimes under difficult circumstances - and offering advice or reassurance.
Dispatchers - responsible for dispatching ambulances and a range of other resources to an incident. The dispatch team is a critical link between a medical emergency taking place and help arriving at the scene in as timely a manner as possible.
Clinicians – paramedics, nurses, midwives, and doctors working to remotely triage patients ensuring appropriate clinical response and signposting to alternative care pathways where appropriate, helping to ensure that ambulance responses are prioritised for the most unwell and injured patients.
Operations Delivery Centre – a dedicated team supporting the delivery of effective patient care across the Trust by ensuring patient flow and resource availability, as well as overseeing the deployment of a range of specialist teams to incidents where required.
William Lee, Assistant Director of Operations at SWASFT, said: “International Control Room Week is a great opportunity for colleagues from across the Trust to come together, celebrate and give thanks to the fantastic teams in our Emergency Operations Centres.
“People dial 999 when they or someone else is desperately ill or injured and they are in the direst need. They call us when minutes matter.
“I would like to offer my personal thanks to all my outstanding colleagues working as part of the Emergency Operations Centres and across the wider Trust. Every day they dedicate themselves to delivering the best patient care and to saving lives across the South West.”
SWASFT is actively recruiting for staff to work in their Emergency Operations Centres in Exeter and Bristol. Please visit https://www.workingwondersjoinus.co.uk/ for further details.
International Control Room Week is running from Monday 23 to Friday 27 October.
In a life-threatening emergency, dial 999 and request an ambulance. For non-life-threatening emergencies, people can access appropriate care by visiting NHS 111 online, contacting their GP, or getting advice from a pharmacy.