A BRIERLEY Hill call assessor has been honoured for helping to save a nine-year-old boy's life.

Jacqueline Chase was one of many West Midlands Ambulance Service workers, volunteers and members of the public to be recognised at the Long Service and Excellence Awards, held in Solihull.

Assessors based at the service's Emergency Operations Centre in Brierley Hill are often required to provide lifesaving instructions over the phone to people in distress, which can be a stressful and demanding task.

However Jacqueline managed to stay calm and provide clear and precise instructions, which resulted in successful CPR and basic life support being carried out on the youngster and saw her presented with a Chief Officer Commendation.

The awards ceremony also saw NHS 111 staff and the Mental Health Response Unit, both based in Brierley Hill, receive the Team Achievement in Excellence Award.

NHS 111 staff were honoured for their "excellent delivery" of service since stepping in in November 2013 and consistently exceeding performance targets.

The response unit received the accolade as the scheme has led to a dramatic reduction in the number of people suffering mental ill health issues ending up in police custody across the West Midlands.

Since January 2014, police officers have been crewed with mental health nurses and paramedics in a responder vehicle, seven days a week, who carry out mental health assessments, often reducing the need for further police intervention. The team has attended almost 3,000 call outs to conduct assessments.

Chief executive Anthony Marsh said: β€œIt is right that we take time out of our busy schedules to pause for a moment to reflect on all the great things that our staff, volunteers and colleagues from the other emergency services and our partners do to support the ambulance service in providing a really good service for the public and saving lives.”