Wiltshire Police have issued an urgent update regarding their emergency call services. The force reported that their 101 phone line is currently out of service due to "technical difficulties" in their control room. Meanwhile, calls to the 999 emergency line are experiencing delays, although they will still be answered.

In a statement, Wiltshire Police explained, "We are currently experiencing technical difficulties in our control room which have resulted in an outage of the 101 telephone service. Those ringing 999 to report emergency crimes in progress will have their calls answered but with a slight delay."

The police urged the public to use the 101 function available on their website for reporting non-emergency crimes. They reassured callers that efforts are underway to restore the telephone service as quickly as possible.

The statement continued, "The 101 function of our website is still operational and anyone wishing to report a crime not in progress should follow the link in the comment section of this post. Work is rapidly ongoing to bring the telephone service back online. Thank you for your patience."

This incident comes amid ongoing concerns regarding the pressures faced by emergency call handlers. Earlier this year, reports highlighted that ambulance call handlers are experiencing high levels of sickness and burnout, leading to significant staff turnover. Data obtained under Freedom of Information laws revealed that the average 999 call handler takes a month off sick each year, compared to just four days for the average UK worker.

The emotional toll of the job has been described as intense, with call handlers dealing with distressing situations during their shifts. One call handler shared, "One moment, you're guiding someone through CPR, the next, you're handling a major incident, like the recent Liverpool victory parade. There’s a significant emotional impact. It’s relentless. You log in, take emotionally intense calls for 12 hours straight, and then go home."

Another handler noted, "Typically, those who can’t cope with the intensity of the calls or the distressing screams on some calls tend to leave within a month." The findings were compiled by Unison for a report detailing the impact on frontline 999 staff following a decade of worsening ambulance response times.