Plea to treat Norfolk's ambulance call handlers with respect
East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) say cases of abuse are not rare
According to EEAST call handlers are subjected to racial, homophobic, sexual or other types of abuse while answering 999 calls.
As part of a campaign the trust is appealing to the public to Choose Respect when making emergency calls.
Deputy Chief Operating Office for EEAST, Gary Morgan, said:
"Sadly, incidents of staff being sworn at and abused by members of the public are not rare. Our call handlers can sometimes experience abusive calls on a near-daily basis.
"As well as being an unpleasant experience, over time this could have an impact on their mental wellbeing.
"No-one deserves abuse just for doing their job, but the work of call handlers is already difficult and often stressful.
"They are there to find out quickly what kind of incident they are dealing with and get help to people as soon as they can. They really shouldn’t be subjected to these levels of abuse."
He continued to say it's understood that people may be frightened, in shock or upset when they call, but stressed the will seek police prosecutions and "push for appropriate sentences" in court.
As we approach Christmas and the New Year, which is typically a busier time for the NHS, people are urged to only call 999 in a medical emergency and contact 111 for anything else.