Ambulance emergency call centre picks up top award
Wednesday, 10 November, 2010
The London Ambulance Service beat tough competition from across Europe to be named 'outstanding emergency call centre'.
The awards, presented in Brussels this week, were organised by the European Emergency Number Association to recognise individuals and organisations who have helped to improve and promote the European emergency number 112.
Clinical Support Manager Stephen Hines nominated the call centre staff, which includes 999 call takers, people who dispatch emergency vehicles, those who provide clinical advice over the phone, as well as managers.
Stephen said: "We're really proud to win this award - it's great for all of the staff in our control room to be recognised for their ongoing hard work.
"We've been working to improve our relationships with European contacts for some time and now have a contact for an ambulance call centre in every country in Europe. On average we get about one call a week that involves talking to our European counterparts. Usually, this happens when people are speaking to relatives or friends in Europe either by phone or via the internet and they collapse or fall ill."
Director of Operations Richard Webber collected the award from Vice President of the European Parliament Diana Wallis.
