As of a couple of weeks ago, Nee Naw Control is no longer officially known as Central Ambulance Control but as the Emergency Operations Centre. I am not sure of the logic behind this change of name since Central Ambulance Control bears far more relation to what actually goes on in there than the new name. Emergency Operations Centre sounds rather like we are whimsically whipping people’s tonsils out when the hospital is full. I think it’s another step in moving away from the word “ambulance” since we also have Telephone Advice, the HEMS helicopter, Emergency Care Practitioners, FRUs and other non-ambulance ambulancy things. We’re already not supposed to mention the word “ambulance” on the phone because it “increases the callers’ expectations that they are going to get an ambulance”. Whoever made up this rule has obviously never spoken to any of the callers — the second they pick up the phone, they already think that an ambulance will be knocking at their door within the next five seconds. Their expectations are already at ceiling.
You will also notice that the word “Control” has also been removed. I don’t know why this is. Perhaps we are no longer controlling the ambulances; the ambulances are controlling us.
November 22nd, 2005 at 2:22 pm
Perhaps they are going to sent the ambulances to you to have teh “Emergency Operations” carried out ;o)
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:01 pm
“Emergency Operations Centre” would suggest that the centre only deals with responses to emergencies, not non-emergency related stuff. Are non-emerency ambulances currently controlled from the same place?
Presumably if the full title is “London Ambulance Service Emergency Operations Centre”, the word “Ambulance” in the service name hints at what sort of emergency operations are centred there…
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:02 pm
Here in the States Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is used as a term for the central area where decisions will be made in the event of a large-scale “incident” (hostage situation, school shooting, officer-involved shooting, large-scale natural disaster, etc). It’s where all the supervisors (fire, rescue, police, city planners, etc) will congregate so that everyone has instant access to information, and they can talk face-to-face about all the important decisions. It also usually has a single phone number that other cities can call to coordinate where they should stage their extra personnel (ambulances as well as police) to help. Here, it is usually in or very near the dispatch center.
Also, maybe they’re trying to remind everyone that you should only be called in an emergency, and this was the best they could do?
~US Dispatcher~
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:49 pm
On the plus side, at least you no longer work in a CAC environment
November 22nd, 2005 at 4:51 pm
We deal with emergency ambulances and doctors’ urgent calls, which are calls that need an fully equipped ambulance in 1-3 hours, no blue lights and sirens, and we also deal with some patient transport cases, although the majority of those are dealt with by their own base which is elsewhere in the building. So it’s not just emergencies, and the London Ambulance Service bit isn’t in the name, although it would be pretty hard to know about it without knowing ambulances were somehow involved.
We have a separate room for major incidents — I think they’ve called it Incident Control, which is across the corridor from CAC EOC Nee Naw Control whatever you want to call it.
I don’t think reminding people that we should only be called in an emergency would help. If you asked all the callers if they thought what they called about constituted an emergency, the only people who’d say “no” would be a bunch of old people with chest pains… What we need to be telling them is what is an ambulance requiring emergency and what isn’t.
November 22nd, 2005 at 8:18 pm
What’s an FRU - “Frantic Response Unit”?
November 22nd, 2005 at 8:27 pm
First Response Unit, although I prefer your version.
November 23rd, 2005 at 3:46 am
When someone calls 999 I believe they are asked which service they require. Does the word “ambulance” not crop up at this stage? What I mean to say is can they even get to speak to you without first saying the forbidden word?
November 23rd, 2005 at 10:02 am
The caller can say it all they like, but we’re only supposed to say it when we answer the phone: “Ambulance service, what’s the problem…”
I say it all the time, though. It just slips out! They should have electric shock machines under the desk that buzz us every time we say “ambulance”!
November 23rd, 2005 at 11:30 am
Another ‘bright’ idea from someone sitting in a room upstairs I suppose.
I won’t be surprise if down the road someone else decides to change the name back.
The Driving Instructor
November 23rd, 2005 at 11:38 am
If this blog takes off perhaps they’ll start calling it Nee Naw Control. Wouldn’t that be nice?
November 23rd, 2005 at 2:22 pm
‘whimsically whipping peoples tonsils out’ LOL!! If only that were true, i’d love to see a patients face, after calling for an ambo for a sore throat, when we turn up brandishing scalpels and the like
Would have worked a treat on a pt of mine the other night, stating to you lot he couldnt breathe (hence the catA), we turn up and not a bit of DIB, asked why he said he couldnt breathe his reply was near to tear jerking…………..
………………..’Ive got a blocked nose’!! bless the little f @*$£&*r
November 23rd, 2005 at 5:51 pm
wait till you spend more time on dispatch.. then you’ll relise the crews do control us
November 23rd, 2005 at 7:28 pm
You mean we can’t send them on a cross-London blue light transfer at two minutes to seven? I was looking forward to that!
(Note to any crews reading this… this is a joke… I wouldn’t be that cruel!)
November 26th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
Oh i was under the impresion that you were on both call taking and dispatch, are you new in EOC??
November 26th, 2005 at 7:27 pm
No, I’m not new — been here longer than you! — but I don’t go up on dispatch much. I think everyone has decided that I’m better at call taking! Can’t say much else or you might work out who I am!
November 26th, 2005 at 7:29 pm
And how do you know you have been here longer than me, did you see my e-mail?
November 27th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
“Perhaps we are no longer controlling the ambulances; the ambulances are controlling us.”
I for one welcome our new ambulance overlords.
November 27th, 2005 at 6:24 pm
Yep, I get an email every time someone posts a comment with the email address you entered included.