The Prince of Wales praised first responders for speaking out against physical and verbal assaults on the job during a visit to the London Ambulance Service (LAS) in Waterloo on Friday. One of the emergency staff he spoke with was paramedic Charlotte Miller, who was sexually assaulted by a man during a call-out. He was later jailed for 9 months.
Speaking about her experience to the Prince, Charlotte told him: "I'm not going to bore you with all the details," to which he replied: "You could never bore me. But does it play on your mind more now, when you go out on jobs?" She told him: "It's always going to be scary, but big up to my manager and my team, who were all brilliant in their support of me speaking out about it."
William has long advocated for ensuring that emergency responders have the right mental health support, having witnessed the challenges the profession faces on a daily basis through his roles as both an Air Ambulance and a RAF Search and Rescue pilot. After meeting Katy Crichton, head of health and wellbeing, he met other members of the team who shared their experiences of working for LAS, including staff in the wellbeing team who offer mental health support and services to paramedics like Miss Miller.
The Prince's outing in London comes after a busy week of engagements, where he carried out a joint visit to Northern Ireland with his wife, Kate, and travelled to RAF Benson with Crown Prince Hussein of Jordan. William and Kate are likely to take a short break from their royal duties amid their children's October half-term break from school and their impending move from Adelaide Cottage to their 'forever home' Forest Lodge.
1/5
© Alamy Stock PhotoWilliam met with call handlers
Emergency Operations Control Room
In the emergency operations control room, the Prince then met call handlers who manage 999 calls for the ambulance service. Two team members told the future King how they are regularly subjected to verbal abuse when taking calls.
2/5
© Alamy Stock PhotoWilliam spoke to different team members at the HQ
Hearing experiences
"We're the first point of contact, so people often panic, they can be aggressive, it's the norm to get lots of abuse,” one of them told him.
"I don't know if it should be though, should it?" William said. "There must be a way to deal with that abuse going forwards."
3/5
© Getty ImagesWilliam saw a training demonstration
In the garage
During his outing, the Prince was also shown the vehicles used by the LAS team including the world's first, purpose built all-electric ambulance, and electric fast response cars. He also spoke to paramedics taking part in a training demonstration with simulations on dummies of emergency call-out scenarios.
4/5
© Getty ImagesWilliam got involved too
Royal patron
"It feels like that role of [the paramedic] is getting bigger and bigger. It's great to see it all. Keep up the good work," said William, who became the patron of the College of Paramedics earlier this year.
5/5
© Alamy Stock PhotoWilliam speaking with Andy Trotter chair of London Ambulance Service NHS Trust and chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer
Praise from the Prince
The London Ambulance Service is the largest ambulance service in the UK, serving millions of residents in the capital and its many thousands of visitors. Each year, the service receives millions of emergency 999 calls and urgent 111 calls, this results in providing face-to-face care to patients at the scene and treating 180,000 people over the phone. The LAS was officially formed in April 1965, and William's visit marks a milestone in the organisation's 60th year.
