More Than 4 in 5 Calls to 999 Are Not Life-Threatening

UK ambulance on road
116
Filed under - Contact Centre News,

For nearly half (45%) of NHS ambulance trusts, more than four in five calls are non-urgent or life-threatening, finds new research from Five9.

The figures come as ambulance services face unprecedented pressure with record-high response times and 12.5 million calls in the year from May 2021.

Out of eleven (of the fourteen UK ambulance service trusts that responded), 91% are not currently using any artificial intelligence (AI) for call handling, meaning that most calls are operated manually.

Almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents currently have no plans to implement AI technologies to help deal with the burgeoning number of calls to ambulance services.

Only two trusts plan to implement AI in the next twelve months, while a further two plan to adopt AI technologies to support call prioritization in the next three to five years.

AI technologies are already helping health services across the world manage high call volumes by identifying and screening non-urgent contacts.

“Today’s research suggests ambulance call-handling staff are being flooded by non-urgent calls, taking precious time away from them to attend to patients who are most in need of critical care.

“As the NHS deals with unprecedented demand that shows little sign of abating, it must find new ways to facilitate faster emergency response times for the public,” says Brian Atkinson, General Manager and Vice President EMEA at Five9.

“It shows the untapped potential of AI to help handle high call volumes and collect information to pass on to call-handling staff.

“As winter flu season looms and Covid cases will likely soar again, now is the time for the NHS to invest in technologies like conversational AI to help alleviate extreme pressures on staff while streamlining costs.

“This is not only about ensuring an ambulance service that is fit for purpose, but about supporting front-line staff to deliver their best, while also maintaining citizens’ trust in this most vital of public services,” Brian continued.

For more information about Five9 - visit the Five9 Website

About Five9

Five9 Five9 provides end-to-end solutions with omnichannel routing, analytics, WFO, and AI to increase agent productivity and deliver tangible business results.

Read other posts by Five9

Call Centre Helper is not responsible for the content of these guest blog posts. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of Call Centre Helper.

Author: Five9

Published On: 26th Aug 2022 - Last modified: 30th Aug 2022
Read more about - Contact Centre News,

Follow Us on LinkedIn

Recommended Articles

jargon definition
Contact Centre Jargon and Terminologies
A photo of somebody working from home
The Ultimate Guide to Telecommuting and Improving Work–Life Balance
AI in customer service concept with a robot in headphones coming out of a laptop
Our Top Use Cases for AI in Customer Service
Five hand drawn light bulbs on wooden steps
Contact Centre AI Maturity Model