East of England Ambulance Service answers 'record' 1.5 million emergency calls
The region's ambulance service said it answered almost 1.5 million 999 calls in its busiest year on record, an increase of about half a million on the previous year.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST), which operates control rooms in Bedford, Chelmsford and Norwich, said calls were answered in an average of two seconds during 2025/26.
It said this was an improvement of 10 seconds compared with the previous year.
Terry Hicks, the trust's deputy director for emergency operations centres, said: "When somebody dials 999, our control room teams are often the very first point of contact in what may be the worst moment of that person's life."
He added: "Last year they answered nearly 1.5 million calls, delivered life-saving CPR instructions thousands of times and helped ensure patients received the right care as quickly as possible."
The trust said its control room teams dispatched ambulances and other resources to more than 827,000 emergencies across the region.
They also supported more than 159,000 patients through its Hear and Treat service, which provides clinical advice and helps patients access appropriate care without an ambulance being sent.
Call handlers provided instructions for bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on 8,489 occasions, helping members of the public begin chest compressions while emergency assistance was on its way.
The trust said 43 control room staff had also been recognised for helping parents safely deliver babies before ambulance crews arrived.
EEAST responded to more than 84,000 emergency incidents in September alone – and says it's gearing up for a busy winter.
The figures were released to mark International Control Room Week, which runs from 26 October to 2 November.