Thorpe Hamlet, Norwich | 8 Feb 2012
A baby who made her arrival outside in the snow yesterday (Monday, February 6) was ensured a safe welcome to the world thanks to the ambulance service’s newest call handler.
The East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) was called to snowy Thorpe Hamlet in Norwich where a mother had unexpectedly gone into labour outside her home.
But before the first ambulance crew arrived just minutes later, EEAST call handler Dan Apps – only in his third week at the Trust – had helped safely deliver the baby over the phone.
Supervised by his mentor Kaylee Groucott, Dan was able to calm down the panic-stricken father enough to talk him through delivering his daughter, despite a language difference, and ensuring mother and baby were made comfortable after the birth.
Dan was then able to report to the crews en route that the little girl had been born and that, although mother and baby were in the snow, both were warm.
Dan said: “I have to admit it was the call I was most nervous about happening. I’d been fine dealing with cardiac problems other serious calls but this was seeing a new life into the world, it was a huge responsibility but also really exciting at the same time.
“It was great to be able to help deliver the baby but there was a huge sigh of relief afterwards.”
Soon after the baby’s arrival a rapid response vehicle (RRV) clinician arrived to tend to mother and baby, followed by paramedics in an ambulance who took them both to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital maternity unit.
Nicholas Jones, Assistant General Manager of the EEAST Norwich control room, said: “We wish mother and baby our very best. This is such a heart-warming story and all credit goes to our staff for making it so, particularly Dan who was only three weeks into the job when he was faced with the nerve-wracking prospect of making sure a new baby was delivered safely in fairly challenging circumstances.
“This is a fantastic achievement for someone so new to the job and it pays testament to how well the call handling system works so that even a new call handler is able to deal with this kind of incident.”
