On Wednesday 14 May 2025, an ambulance crew from the North East Ambulance Service reunited with 8-year-old Bella who called 999 when her mam fell ill. The crew presented Bella with a bravery certificate from the service.
On Wednesday 5 March 2025, Bella, aged 8, and her sister Sienna, aged 6, were at home with their mam when she collapsed in the bathroom. Despite being very scared for their mam, the sisters jumped to action to help her. After a call to their grandma, Bella made the very important call to 999 and went to her neighbours house for help as a crew from the ambulance service made their way to their home.
In 2024/25, the service answered over 1.4 million 999 and 111 calls from across the region. Its health advisors and clinicians also treated over 139,700 patients over the phone and its frontline crews transported over 288,000 patients to hospitals across the North East, and treated over 139,000 patients at home.
Bella and Sienna’s mam came in and out of consciousness as they awaited the crews arrival on-scene. Although her memory of the day is patchy, she recalls: “I was home alone with Bella and Sienna when I suddenly felt very strange. The next thing I remember is waking up on the floor with my girls crying over me and frantically asking what was wrong.
“I was completely dazed and confused so Bella rang her grandma who told her to call the doctor. She hung up and dialled 999, and told the call handler everything she could before the crew arrived.”
The ambulance service regularly receives calls from children who are calling on behalf of poorly adults who have unexpectantly fell into their care. As part of the service’s ongoing engagement with patients, it has developed a series of resources for children’s caregivers to teach them about the importance of calling 999 and when to call for help in an emergency. These resources are available on the Trust’s website: https://
Responding to the call were Backworth crew John Short and Samantha Orridge. Recounting the call, paramedic apprentice Samantha said: “I remember getting the call notes when we were on-route to Bella and Sienna’s mam and they mentioned that a child had been the one to call 999. Immediately we were all impressed that someone Bella’s age had the courage and knowledge to do that.
“When we arrived on-scene, Bella was with her neighbour as she’d also thought to go to him for help. I remember finding her mum on the bathroom floor confused and Bella was naturally very worried.”
Bella’s mam continued: “The call handler who answered Bella’s call was fantastic with her, as were the crew. They made sure she was able to see me whilst they were treating me and see that I was ok before they took me to hospital. They explained everything to her which reassured her in what was a really scary moment for her, and I cannot thank them enough for what they did.”
Clinical care assistant, John said: “This job sticks out for me as a good example of teaching children early the importance of when to phone 999 when help is needed urgently. You hope that children in your care will never need to look after you in an emergency, but it is always important that they know what to do if that happens to them, like it did with Bella and Sienna.”
In addition to its digital resources, the ambulance service also provides schools, extracurricular clubs, and community groups with community visits where members of the public can learn about the service, ambulances, and calling 999. Find out more about the service’s school and community visits, and access resources for schools by visiting its website: https://
On having the opportunity to meet Bella and her mam again, Samantha concluded: “It’s always nice to be reunited with families after an incident and see them back well and to their normal selves again. Often, we meet patients in the worst circumstances, some of which don’t make it, and we never get to find out the outcome of their health or the impact our care had on them.
“I was really excited to be able to congratulate Bella on how well she did looking after her mum and tell her how amazing she did.”