The ambulance control room in Carmarthen

The Welsh Ambulance NHS Trust has invested in a scheme which allows callers to speak in a language of their choice.

A conference facility is quickly set-up between the controller, the caller and an interpreter.

The system, which has been on trial, was first used by assistant controller Clare Thomas who took a call from a French woman in Swansea.

"She could not speak much English so we used the translator system to communicate through an interpreter," she said.

Assistant controller Clare Thomas

"I then asked the questions as I normally would and the interpreter translated that to her and then translated the answer back to me.

"It was just as quick as taking a normal 999 call.

"I was able to stay on the line until the ambulance arrived and because the crew faced the same language barrier they used the translator as well.

"It was not as serious a call as it could have been but if it had been an emergency such as a cardiac arrest it would be really important.

It responds to the language needs of the people in the many different communities in Wales Lyn Meadows

"It helps us a lot and helps the patient - usually they are already under pressure because of the nature of the call and it can help keep them calm."

Managers say the system's introduction to the four control centres across Wales was a sign of the increasing diversity of communities in the country.

Planning treatment

The trust has also issued a multi-lingual phrase book to every ambulance.

The book contains routine questions that paramedics need to know the answer to in languages as diverse as Welsh, Arabic, Chinese and Somali.

The sooner crews are able to find out what is wrong with a patient, the sooner they can begin planning the treatment.

The trust's director of development Lyn Meadows said: "This is a great step forward to achieving the trust's intention to give equality of service to people across Wales.