On Thursday we went to listen in to our counterparts here.
I found it very moving. Each call was a little story of distress that was both personal and, given the number of calls, universal.
A child having a nasty asthma attack, the mother too distraught to deal with it on the phone and having to rely on a friend..
A woman with severe chest pains you can hear moaning in the background; her daughter trying to stay calm whilst on the phone.
An overdose; I cannot go into that.
And so it went on. The young woman I sat with handled them all with aplomb and got a buzz out of being part of a system that provides support to people in dire need.
They have a wonderful set up that allows them to open up page upon page of information that depends on what answers they get. This allows them to give immediate advice and is sent to the Ambulance Crew to prime them before arrival. Brilliant.
I have the utmost admiration for the people who deal with these calls.
I got home feeling quite emotional.
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