Bedford MP thanks 999 call handlers in visit to Emergency Operations Centre

He joined the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust’s (EEAST) Chair, Mrunal Sisodia OBE, for a tour of the centre and the opportunity to meet some of the control room staff who take 999 calls every day.

Bedford Emergency Operations Centre is one of three across the east of England, with the other two located in Norwich and Chelmsford. In November 2023, Bedford Emergency Operations Centre alone handled almost 17,000 999 calls.

Mohammed Yasin, MP for Bedford, said: “I visited the Emergency Operations Centre to speak to staff about their experiences and to personally thank them again for the lifesaving work they do day in day out.

“I have visited the ambulance service many times before, but it is important to keep in touch with frontline services and to work together as much as we can to improve services both for staff and the residents across the region they support. I will continue to fight for the resources our emergency services need to bring down emergency response waiting times.”

Mrunal Sisodia OBE, EEAST’s Chair, said: “I was delighted to welcome Mohammed Yasin MP to our Emergency Operations Centre in Bedford, so that he could meet some of our hard-working frontline staff at a particularly busy time of year heading into winter.

“Our 999 call handlers are the first point of contact for people in need of an ambulance, and they take hundreds of calls every day. While it is a very demanding role, it is a vital part of our operations as an ambulance service, and it is important that the work of our Emergency Operations Centres is recognised.”

If you want a job that gives you the opportunity to make a difference, start your #CareerForLife with EEAST today. You can find out more about careers and volunteering opportunities at www.eastamb.nhs.uk/join-the-team.