'R U OK Day is every day, for us': Inside the Barrack Heights triple-zero control centre

From NSW Ambulance's Southern Control Centre at Barrack Heights, it is Ms Connell's job to answer the phone when people from the Illawarra and beyond - as far as the Victorian border - make a call to triple-zero and ask for an ambulance.

The injured, mentally unwell, pregnant, critically ill - and their families - Ms Connell has heard it all. But lately the calls come non-stop, and some of them have taken on a new, disturbing tone.

Callers are scared, Ms Connell says. She can hear the fear in their voices. Sometimes she can hear their breathing getting worse, and other signs that they are deteriorating even as the minutes tick by.

"When COVID first happened, it was pretty rare that we had a patient ring up and say they were COVID-positive. It's a lot more common now," she said.

"They're worried about their other family members, they're worried about 'if I go to hospital what's going to happen to my husband?'

"You can actually hear the deterioration; you can hear the fear, the worry.

"We try to keep them calm while they're waiting for the ambulance, so they don't get any worse.

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"In 10 years, I've never heard anything like it, when they're reaching that level of desperation."

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Ms Connell relies on her close-knit team of colleagues for support when the calls get especially dark. She spoke about her experiences on the eve of R U OK Day, on Thursday, a suicide prevention initiative which highlights the importance of checking on your mates and colleagues at home and at work.

"R U OK Day is every day, for us," Ms Connell said.

"We are a very close team in Southern Control, and we make sure that we are there for each other and we can read each other really well, so we know if someone comes off a call that something isn't right or they need to be checked on."

Suzy kosteski, a dispatcher and acting supervisor at Southern Control, says much of her day is spent making decisions in rapidly evolving situations.

"Sometimes at the end of the day we're just exhausted," she said. "We haven't stopped making decisions - we might change a decision five or six times to get an ambulance to a patient.

"I think the biggest thing within the control room - even though we already do it a lot with the general public and supervisors - is talking. If you're not OK, put your hand up and ask for help. We're big advocates of that. We make sure people know they can speak to you. You may walk past the plant room and just say, 'hi, how's your day going?'. It's those things sometimes we forget about."

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