Police call handler saves man's life by interpreting his tapping

The 63-year-old mute man was put through to Cleveland Police call handler Kathryn Longstaff. She realised something was wrong and recognised his tapping as a form of conversation. The unnamed man was later taken to James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, and used his whiteboard - his usual way to communicate - to thanks Ms Longstaff for saving his life. Ms Longstaff was praised by Head of force control room Superintendent Emily Harrison, who said: 'Without her quick-thinking the man might not be alive today.'

[rudyboo]

She definitely deserves a medal 🎖 🎖 🎖. Awesome job...

[spencerreynolds]

Great job but "1 for yes, 2 for no" would have been easier. Call handler was a pro.

[gnamp]

Impressive? It was a bloody miracle- the system they developed was so inconsistent and yet mutually intelligible as to be nothing short of miraculous.

[alliinwonder]

He is ok. He had his larynx removed and was coughing up blood. He had called 999 previously so they had his details and were able to confirm with the tapping. It’s explained in an article called 999 operator meets caller who tapped over phone.

[the_Real_Grammy_of_]

This dispatcher is by far the best dispatcher I’ve ever heard. She was caring, had compassion and extremely smart. She didn’t ask ridiculous questions that don’t need to be asked at the moment. Great job
Seems like they are trained better across the pond

[JS-rirx]

Im a 999 call handler and its a tough job. She did a great job identifying this and gave a great service. Well done 👏

[carlagoncalves]

This lady is amazing bless her soul. She deserves to be recognazied and praised.

[ptsmiffy]

Man when you’re in critical moments in life and the person on the other end is by all means you’re only hope it really makes me appreciate everyone working such serious jobs. I love you guys.

[ysoldeclaireduffy]

Give her a promotion and a medal, absolutely class, , thank you

[zed]

She established in 2 minutes that he needed an ambulance because he was in bed with breathing difficulties at home on his own with the front door locked. I’m so impressed 😍

[hobmoor]

Poor guy had recently had his larynx removed and he was coughing up blood.

[BrookeSun.]

Well when you can't talk. That's what u do. you bang on things. That's the code.

[voiceofreason]

Very professional end to end. She worked out a code, used it to get information, stayed calm, didn't mock, and saved a life.

[FlikkieFloekieFlakkie]

Never knew that knocking on things could make me emotional

[claudiaholmes]

The dispatcher was amazing!! I do hope the caller ended up alright.

[sadbuttrueinthestcentury]

I worked as a supervisor in a customer service center, and we had a man call in who wanted to order our products. The sound on the phone was deep gasping while talking, and my employee couldn’t understand him at all. Turns out he was a quadriplegic on a vent to help him breathe, and he had to time his words. I sat with him and had to ask for complete silence in the center so I could understand him. He told me hardly anyone would take the time and just hang up on him, thinking he was pranking. Sometimes you must have tremendous patience and not be afraid to listen which can be daunting, esp. if you do think it’s a prank call.

[ammall]

Tears exploded out of my eyes when the guy banged his phone after "will the police need to break open the door to get in". Literally, please get here asap and do not worry about any damage, just safe me.

[jynx]

This woman is amazing! So many would have just hung up thinking it’s a prank call!

[sueweisberg]

I hope the man survived
He was smart tapping and she was awesome realizing this was not a prank call
She supported him and got him the help he needed

[theresechristiansen]

Brilliant. She handled that perfectly. The person was upset, nervous, unsure if she could hear him, so banged A LOT. She may've thought asking him to bang once for yes, two for no would be difficult & in a highly charged situation where someone is scared, he just wanted to keep on banging! It was up to her to back it up and confirm. Medal winner.