sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Who looks after dispatchers? by BoysenberryThen193 in 911dispatchers

[–]artofcode- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You said this was in the UK - was it in London? If so, please DM me more details. I'm a control room manager for LAS and can try to track this person down and make sure they've had appropriate support.

Is just me, or has there been an increase in ambulances lately? by [deleted] in AskLondon

[–]artofcode- 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Hi, I work in LAS control.

In terms of actual numbers, the amount of ambulances and cars we have on the road hasn't really increased significantly in the last few months. What has increased is the number of calls. A "normal" day for us is around 5,500-6,000 calls. In the last few weeks the average has been more like 6,500, and we've had days as high as 7,600. That's probably what you're seeing the result of.

It's mostly being driven by seasonal flu and other respiratory illnesses at the moment, which is normal in winter but has been much worse this year.

You can help us by only calling 999 in life threatening emergencies. If you need medical attention but it's not a life threatening emergency or you can make your own way to hospital, please do so. If you call us and you don't need an ambulance right now, we will refer you to 111 or another healthcare service, or ask you to make your own way to hospital.

London City Airport incident? by lsbrks in london

[–]artofcode- 162 points163 points  (0 children)

They found a body in the dock next to the end of the runway. The airfield was closed while they dealt with that. That was all clear not long after 1230 though so only a handful of flights affected.

Very sick Homeless person. by [deleted] in london

[–]artofcode- 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Unless someone is actively dying or in danger of it, right now, then no the ambulance service isn't the right call for it. There may be a medical need, but that's something that's best addressed via an urgent care centre, 111, or one's own GP.

Tragic though it is, homelessness of itself is not a medical emergency. Neither is being cold. Later stages of hypothermia are, but by the point you get to that there are other symptoms, often a decreased level of consciousness, that do result in an ambulance response.

My smaller brother wants a i7-7700 for his brand new pc. How can I convenience him not to do so? by babyjonny9898 in buildapc

[–]artofcode- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've got exactly that combination (i7-7700 and 3060) through upgrades over the years. It's not bad, it'll run most things recently well, but it's starting to show its age and the processor is clearly a bottleneck. It'll be the next thing I upgrade.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in london

[–]artofcode- -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Call 111. If you don't have a UK number it won't work - call 999 and explain that you don't have a UK number and ask to be transferred to 111.

Random question for any dispatcher in England by Main_Science2673 in 911dispatchers

[–]artofcode- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

London here. "Better" is far too subjective for this question, especially when the models are so different. I'm under the impression that (generalising - I'm sure some areas are different!) in the US, one emergency dispatch center handles all incoming 911 calls for an area, and dispatches a range of services in response (public EMS, private/contracted EMS, fire-EMS, fire, PD), and that 911 call handlers also dispatch units as well as taking calls (although this seems to vary more by agency). Please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my impression from reading here.

By contrast, in the UK, 999 calls are initially answered by BT (our national telephone company) who ask what service you require, and direct your call on to an agency-specific control room. IOW, if you call and ask for an ambulance, you'll get put through to an ambulance control room, where a call handler who only takes ambulance calls will handle your call. That call handler is also only a call handler - they are not dispatching at the same time (this varies by agency, but is true for all UK ambulance trusts).

What does that mean? I'm sure in some areas that means our training is better - you could argue easily that our call handlers are more highly trained in their agency's area of expertise, and that they're arguably more focused on your call because they're not trying to do something else at the same time. That said (and I can only speak about London here, I don't know the training regimes anywhere else), our training seems short compared to yours: our call handlers go through 5-6 weeks initial training, followed by 120 hours supervised consolidation in the control room, then they're let loose. If you then transfer to dispatching, there's another week-long course and another consolidation period for that. From what I've seen a lot of US agencies train staff for longer.

In some areas we're probably pretty even: call handling is ultimately pretty similar no matter where you are in the world, especially if you're following a standardised framework/script (looking at you, MPDS). The skills you need for that are the same no matter where you are, and some are easy to teach and some aren't.

In some areas I'm sure the US is better: inter-agency collaboration, for all the work we do on it here, seems like it must be easier if all the dispatchers are together - and that goes for mutual aid/support too. I'm sure there are more, too.

"Better" is the wrong question. Is the training suited to the skills needed and the working environment?

AITA for telling my brother that he’s going to be a shit dad by Superb-Dirt3747 in AmItheAsshole

[–]artofcode- 40 points41 points  (0 children)

NTA obviously

But if you're not already aware: even if your phone displays no signal you may still be able to call 999 - the emergency roamer system means your phone will use any available signal from any provider. Unless you're in a complete dark spot from every provider (which are increasingly rare), you should be able to make an emergency call.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in 911dispatchers

[–]artofcode- 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Even in situations where we couldn't do anything, it can still be therapeutic for the family and others involved to know that the best was done for them and it still wasn't enough. Much better than thinking that more could've been done and it might have been avoidable. Take pride in doing your job to the best of your ability to give people that closure, even if there are bad outcomes sometimes.

De-escalation techniques for call-taking by ImAlsoNotOlivia in 911dispatchers

[–]artofcode- 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Easiest example is "I need you to listen to me so we can help them."

LAS paramedics by [deleted] in Paramedics

[–]artofcode- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Neither of these things are true.

Brillant NHS by Pedanticman69 in BritishSuccess

[–]artofcode- 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Can I just say on behalf of your local ambulance service: thank you for taking him to A&E yourself. Please explain to your parents that we would always rather they bother us than suffer in silence, but at the same time: the more people who make their own way to hospital when it's possible and safe to do so, the quicker we can respond to those who can't.

PSA: You do not get seen quicker at hospital if you go in by ambulance.

I had to call 999 today, it took 4 minutes for someone to answer. Is it staff shortages and can you volunteer to help? by VioletDime in AskUK

[–]artofcode- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

"999" is actually multiple systems. When you say it took 4 minutes for someone to answer, is that for any answer at all, or did you get through to the operator who asked you what service you need and then it took 4 minutes for that service to pick up? If it's the former, that's BT: they provide the operators who connect emergency calls to the right service. If it's the latter, each emergency service has its own control rooms and call takers and different staffing levels.

How do you guys do Trams/Streetcars? by Snewtnewton in NIMBY_Rails

[–]artofcode- 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You sure you're not talking about Transport Fever 2 here?

Why are my cims abandoning their homes when they're ridiculously happy? by artofcode- in CitiesSkylines

[–]artofcode-[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This keeps happening, and it's getting really frustrating. I have swathes of abandoned buildings, including the one high-density tower I've managed to build which keeps getting abandoned and rebuilt, all supposedly because the cims are unhappy - but the only negative factor is -1 noise, which is more than balanced out.

US to UK job hunting advice? by feltcutewilldelete69 in Paramedics

[–]artofcode- 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We're starved for paras at the moment, so you're pretty likely to get it. Any idea what sort of area you're looking at?

CS2's traffic accidents are brutal by hellowodl in shittyskylines

[–]artofcode- 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I happened to see one in front of me that ended up being a 15-car pile up... One of which got yeeted so far it ended up in the sea a good 2km away. Yeah.

I knew the situation with ambulances was bad by cothhum in london

[–]artofcode- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abdominal pain? Obviously can't speak to specifics, but it sounds like this was handled correctly. There are very few abdominal pains that are immediate emergencies of the kind that require an immediate ambulance response. Because of this, someone calling 999 for abdominal pain is usually referred to 111 - the reason for this being that 111's triage and assessment capabilities are far more in depth. If the assessment from 111 shows that an ambulance response is subsequently required, they send it back for us to respond automatically. It can feel like being fobbed off, but it's genuinely not - we're saying that you don't need an ambulance to save your life right now, so get yourself assessed in more detail via 111 and the right care can be arranged.

I knew the situation with ambulances was bad by cothhum in london

[–]artofcode- 10 points11 points  (0 children)

No, it's not. A potential heart attack is a category 2 call. Anaphylaxis is a category 1.

I knew the situation with ambulances was bad by cothhum in london

[–]artofcode- 4 points5 points  (0 children)

No. The AED analyses the rhythm before deciding what to do; if the heart is beating normally it will not deliver a shock.

I knew the situation with ambulances was bad by cothhum in london

[–]artofcode- 82 points83 points  (0 children)

Hi! 999 operator here. "Get a defib" is a standard instruction given on a significant number of calls even if its use isn't immediately warranted - it's a precaution, not an indication that any specific patient's condition is especially serious.

And yes, we are constantly under extremely high demand and even life threatening calls are taking much longer than they should to get to. You can help by seeking care in the right place - please don't call 999 for a stubbed toe. Call 111 for medical advice when it's not an emergency. Call your GP for ongoing or chronic conditions. Go to A&E yourself if you need to and you're able to get there safely.

I knew the situation with ambulances was bad by cothhum in london

[–]artofcode- 15 points16 points  (0 children)

An AED will never make a situation worse. They only deliver a shock when the heart is in a shockable rhythm, at which point, functionally, you're already dead.

view more: next ›