"I've been told it's my fault if a patients dies": WMAS call handlers speak out about abuse they receive
They say it happens on a regular basis
Call handlers at West Midlands Ambulance Service are speaking out about the verbal abuse they receive on a "regular basis".
Physical attacks on ambulance staff and paramedics are well known however the people at the end of the 999 call are speaking out to raise awareness of the issue.
It's thought a call handler will receive at least one abusive call per shift.
Demand on the 111 and 999 service is currently at a record-breaking high, and coupled with the pressures on the NHS since the start of the pandemic, it's thought people are becoming more frustrated and letting out their anger on the call handlers.
Call assessors have been sharing some shocking examples of the types of verbal abuse they’ve experienced whilst simply trying to do their job:
• I’ve been sworn at a lot and been told that it’s my fault if a patient dies
• Some people just call and shout abuse at you and swear at you
• I’ve been called a b**** and told that if I don’t help, I’ll be a murderer
• I’ve had a sexually motivated caller who has made quite explicit remarks
• The caller started giving be abuse on the call and said he’d make my Dad watch him sexually assault me.
• The caller started being verbally abusive because we hadn’t arrived within 10 minutes of their original call.
• Callers have sworn at me, threatened to physically assault me and my family
• The caller said that if his family member died it would be my fault and called me horrific names
Jeremy Brown, Integrated Emergency and Urgent Care Director, has worked for the service for 30 years both on the frontline as a paramedic and in control and knows all too well the abuse staff can face at times.
He said: “Call assessors are the first voice you hear when you call 999 for an ambulance.
"They are there to do the very best by each and every patient, being abusive difficult and offensive to them is not going to help a patient and does have an impact on call assessors personally.
"“When people call 999 for help, call assessors often talk to people at their most vulnerable and often at a person’s low point in their lives. Having taken 999 calls myself, I know how difficult a job it can be at times.
"As a call assessor you’re trained to diffuse situations and calm down callers so that we can get the vital information we need to arrange the best help quickly. It’s understandable when callers are fraught and frightened but it’s not an excuse to be abusive."
If there is an abusive caller, control room supervisors will often intervene on the call. They will also provide support to the call assessor following a difficult or abusive call and offer downtime.