International accreditation for Yorkshire Ambulance Service’s 999 call handling

18 November 2022

Colleagues at Yorkshire Ambulance Service are celebrating once again having been awarded international accreditation for their 999 call handling.

Both Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) in Wakefield and York have received Accredited Centre of Excellence (ACE) status from the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch® (IAED) and multi-site Centre of Excellence status for the fourth time in succession.

The accreditation is awarded to emergency services across the world that can demonstrate superior performance in training, quality assurance and improvement process and/or management, and very high compliance to protocol within their communication centre environments. Currently there are only 296 out of 3,600 agencies worldwide with accreditation and Yorkshire Ambulance Service was commended at the recent UK and Ireland Navigator 2022 Conference.

To celebrate the achievement, the Trust’s Chief Executive Rod Barnes and Executive Director of Operations Nick Smith visited EOCs at York and Wakefield to formally present the accreditation certificates and thank staff for their excellent work in handling emergency calls and ensuring patients receive the care they need.

Claire Lindsay, Head of EOC at Yorkshire Ambulance Service, is very proud of the achievement and said: “To be accredited during this period of prolonged operational pressure is particularly special and a testament to colleagues’ dedication and excellence.  We receive thousands of 999 calls every day and how we handle those calls is so important so that patients receive the care they need.”

Produced by: Corporate Communications Department