13 October 2022
St Helena’s Emergency Services would like to inform the public that with effect from Tuesday, 1 November, 2022, the Ambulance Service will no longer be operated via the emergency telephone number: 911. All Emergency Services (Police, Fire, Sea Rescue and Ambulance) can be contacted via: 999.
All calls requiring emergency assistance will now be managed through a single point of contact- the Joint Emergency Control Centre based at the Royal St Helena Police Station in Jamestown. The single base for all calls will allow for quicker activation of all of the Emergency Services required and ensures they can provide support to those who need it in a timely manner.
Call handlers from the Emergency Control Centre recently underwent training from the Health Services Senior Paramedics, Thomas Attewell, and Michael Gaga-Hale. The training was to ensure that the call handlers were competent with the computerised system which will be used when answering emergency calls.
From Tuesday, 1 November 2022, when calling 999 for an ambulance, callers will be asked:
- if the patient is breathing
- if the patient is conscious (awake)
- what is the problem/situation in which assistance is needed
- the address or location of the emergency
- the telephone number which they are calling from
- the name of the patient and/or caller
- the patients age and sex.
Members of the public are asked to remain calm and patient when calling for help to ensure that the call handlers obtain the correct information. The questions asked by the call handlers do not delay the ambulance response, but allows them to give life-saving advice before the ambulance arrives, such as chest compressions.
People requiring non-emergency healthcare advice can still contact the Hospital on tel: 22500 and speak to a nurse who can decide what level of care the patient needs.
SHG,
13 October 2022