Respond to emergency service calls
Overview
This standard is about responding to calls to the emergency services from members of the public or other stakeholders or services. It is about dealing with these calls to give appropriate information to the caller in order to provide the best possible help and assistance to deal with the situation they are faced with.
Those handling calls will deal with a varied nature of enquiries and requests for help and assistance. Call handlers should respond to callers with respect and dignity,offering the most up to date advice or instruction whilst ensuring they are following the appropriate procedures and protocols for their own service.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- Operate appropriate telephony and computerised systems when taking calls from members of the public, other stakeholders or services
- Receive and register emergency service calls from members of the public, other stakeholders or services in accordance with organisational procedures
- Establish the nature of the call using recognised questioning and listening techniques and collate information in accordance with your organisational procedures
- Respond to callers in ways that are appropriate to the situation and its urgency and that meets the needs of the caller in accordance with your organisational procedures
- Evaluate the information supplied by the caller to determine best protocol to select in accordance with organisational procedures
- Provide relevant instruction or advice on the most appropriate help available in accordance with organisational practice and procedures
- Seek support from relevant others on unfamiliar or complex situations in accordance with organisational procedures and within the remit of your role
- Record and store interactions with callers and others in accordance with legal, regulatory and organisational procedures
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
1. Legal, organisational and policy requirements relevant to your role, the role of others in your organisation and the activities being carried out
2. The relevant national and local guidelines, policies and procedures available and how and when they should be accessed
3. The duty to report any information that could be detrimental to individuals, yourself, colleagues or organisation
4. Remit and limits of your role and responsibilities and the limits of your authority
5. Roles and responsibilities of others in order to determine the best course of action required
6. The timeline for dealing with incidents
7. Where to seek support following a particularly difficult or challenging call or situation
8. Why it is important to allow yourself time to reflect on difficult or challenging calls or situations
9. How to identify major and critical incidents and appropriate action to take
10. How to escalate calls or involve others when you are unable to deal with it yourself
11. How and when it is necessary to escalate incidents to other services and the range of actions and responses that might be taken
12. Range of information to be collated and how to respond
13. Organisational polices and procedures for dealing with hoax and nuisance calls
14. Effective communication techniques to use when dealing with callers including;
- adapting communication style to meet the needs of the caller
- building rapport and demonstrating empathy
- how to effectively utilise questioning and listening skills and techniques
- how to manage challenging calls and situations
15. How to evaluate the information supplied by the caller to determine the best protocol to select
16. Relevant and up to date guidance and information appropriate to your organisation to assist callers with the situation they may be faced with
17. Organisational procedures for providing advice and information to callers and partners relevant to their situation and your organisation
18. How to give clear and accurate instruction to callers and to check their understanding of the information relayed to them
19. Incidents relevant to your sector including comprehension of:
- Complex terminology
20. Identification of the type and potential consequences of each type of incident and the types of responses that could be given
21. Critical advice / instructions to be provided to callers in response to specific types of incidents
22. The purpose of reflective practice and evaluation and how it informs your practice
23. Sector requirements and good practice guidance for the development and maintenance of knowledge, skills and competence
24. The relevant health and safety legislation and advice to be followed to ensure risk to callers is minimised in accordance with organisational procedures
25. Legal, regulatory and organisational requirements and procedures for recording, storing and retrieving records