I'd not heard that story, and indeed it can be hard to talk to people over the phone - I guess that this is why I always get to every call as quickly as I can, if it's a load of crap then I can relax, but if it is something serious I'd look like a complete twit if I saunter in with my hands in my pocket. I couldn't be a calltaker up in Control - I don't know how they do it to be honest, at least I get to see the patient while they have to make decisions based on what people tell them. Like everything in this job, if you follow the policy that people have set down you'll not get into trouble. It's just that sometimes the policy doesn't seem to make complete sense when it meets the real world. I did hear that the Potters Bar train crash was initially phoned in by a child as someone having chest pain. (Which was true, the person they saw did indeed have pain in their chest, pain caused by the crash).