Communication problems affect more than a quarter of emergency ambulance calls, finds a study in this week's BMJ.
A sample of 999 calls received by West Midlands Ambulance Service and Derbyshire Ambulance Service during one week of December 1998 was assessed for communication difficulties.
Of 1830 calls, 26% were associated with a communication problem that delayed ambulance dispatch or prevented delivery of first aid advice. The emotional state of the caller was the most common reason for communication problems occurring. Calls from mobile phones and payphones also generated a higher rate of problems than those from land lines.
Although the increasing use of mobile phones may help to reduce the time taken to notify the emergency services, the advantages of this must be weighed against the high rate of communication problems, stress the authors. Problems related to the emotional state of the caller highlights the need to train call receivers in dealing with people in emotional states, they add.
Use of a standard land line, appropriate training of public service personnel, such as police and fire services, and further public education about the information required when making 999 calls may reduce the extent of communication problems, they conclude.