The Coventry-based national charity is extending their phoneline hours by 25% to help the ambulance community get the support they need as quickly as possible

The Ambulance Staff Charity (TASC) announced today that they are extending their phoneline opening times by 10 hours a week to make contacting the service easier for their beneficiaries. TASC’s phoneline is now open 8am – 6pm, Monday – Friday. This has been made possible with funding provided by the Royal Foundation of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Launched in 2015, TASC is a national charity dedicated to caring for those who care for us and provides mental, physical, and financial wellbeing support and advice to help ensure the UK’s lifesaving ambulance community is strong, healthy, and ready to be there for us when we need them.

Demand for TASC’s services is growing year-on-year and the charity has also made internal changes to streamline their services to ensure ambulance staff, their family members and ambulance service volunteers get the help they need as quickly as possible.

In 2019/20 TASC:

  • Increased their service provision to provide 56% more interventions than the previous year
  • Provided 3,000 support sessions to people in need, 60% of these sessions were for mental health support
  • Provided three times more physical interventions than the previous year
Angie Crashley, TASC’s Wellbeing Support Manager, said:

“Working in the ambulance service is hard at the best of times but the last 12 months has been especially tough and it’s really starting to take a toll. Not only is demand for TASC’s services increasing, but we’re also seeing more complex cases which require multiple or more intensive interventions. With our latest service development, we are ensuring we get people the support they need as quickly as possible, so that they can continue doing the job they love and be there when we need them the most.”

Karl Demian, TASC’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

“As the impact on Coronavirus became clear, the UK’s ambulance services and first responders buckled down to tackle the challenge ahead of them, and for many this meant putting the job ahead of their own wellbeing – something in our experience that ambulance staff do time and again.

Using part of the grant we received from the Royal Foundation, we have extended our telephone hours, employed two new telephone advisors, and streamlined our services to provide a better service and greater accessibility for our beneficiaries. The job they do can be stressful even in normal times and for TASC to be able to offer additional support is fantastic news and we are so grateful to the Royal Foundation for their support.”

Individuals needing support with their mental, physical, or financial wellbeing can contact TASC at the details below:

  • Call TASC on 0800 1032 999 8am – 6pm, Monday – Friday. Outside of these hours, individuals can leave a message and a member of the TASC team will call them back
  • Email TASC’s Wellbeing Support Team at: support@theasc.org.uk
  • Message TASC’s Wellbeing Support Team at: theasc.org.uk/gethelp

Individuals can also download an application form to apply for support at: www.theasc.org.uk/apply-for-support