SOUTH Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is celebrating as the 999 emergency service telephone number commemorates its 80th anniversary and at the same time reminding people to use the emergency 999 service wisely.

First introduced in the London area on June 30, 1937, the UK’s 999 number is the world’s oldest emergency call telephone service. The system was introduced following a fire in which five women were killed. A government inquiry was launched and soon after the 999 service was introduced.

It became available to the South West in 1946 and then to the entire country only when all the telephone exchanges where automated in 1976.

In 2015/16 call handlers at clinical hubs in Bristol and Exeter dealt with more than 911,000 incidents. So far in 2017 call handlers have dealt with more than 430,000 incidents. The busiest county is Devon with more than 101,000 incidents.

Across the SWASFT patch in 2017 almost 13 per cent of our patients have been triaged and treated appropriately over the telephone without the need to send a valuable ambulance resource to the scene.