The Prince of Wales has praised the country’s biggest ambulance service for encouraging staff to speak out about abuse as he met 999 call handlers who face daily verbal attacks.
William toured the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) to meet those on the front line handling thousands of emergency calls a day.
His visit came as there was mounting criticism, led by the prime minister, over the decision to stop supporters of the Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv from attending a Europa League match against Aston Villa.
William is a long-term and passionate Aston Villa supporter and also president of the Football Association but has not commented on the development.
In the LAS control room William talked to Nicole Whiteman, an emergency call co-ordinator, and when asked if she faced abuse from callers she told him it was “daily” and a “part of the job”, explaining the swearing was down to stress but there was also general abuse.
The prince replied it should not be part of the job, adding “there must be a way to deal with that”.
A wellness cafe outside the control room provides a respite for call handlers and he asked wellbeing officer Olivia Prior manning the stall “what signs” she looked for and was told “I’m pretty good at spotting those who want to chat”.
William also chatted to a paramedic who had been sexually assaulted while working and has waived her right to anonymity and previously spoken about the incident to encourage others to come forward.
Pauline Cranmer, LAS chief paramedic officer, hosted the visit and told William: “What we’re also seeing is more of our staff coming forward and reporting things from verbal abuse right the way through to physical abuse.”
She said the statistics were “quite horrifying” with around seven incidents reported daily by ambulance crews and call handlers in London.
The chief paramedic officer paid tribute to the LAS health and wellbeing team for their “support when something terrible has happened as well as us trying to be more preventative”.
In response, the prince said encouraging people to speak up was “really important” as “there’s going to be loads of people sadly who’ve had these experiences who shut it down and don’t speak about it”.
