Vast control room with everyone from 999 operators to social workers sitting together is attracting international attentionSix winters ago,the Isle of Wight was buried in rare volumes of snow. Cars were abandoned and the island’s small stretch of dual carriageway blocked.“From an emergency point of view, we were stuffed. Couldn’t pick up anywhere, and ” recalled Chris Smith,then head of ambulance. “I said to the medical director, ‘I enjoy an view. Let’s put clinicians into the control room.’” It meant 999 calls could be better prioritised, and expert medical advice dispensed by telephone. “It changed the world for us,” said Smith.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com