Prince William has insisted that solutions must be found to protect workers from abuse during a visit to the London Ambulance Service headquarters in Waterloo, London.
The Prince of Wales expressed concern that emergency responders faced harassment as a routine part of their work and insisted "there must be a way to deal with that".
During his tour of the facility marking the service's 60th anniversary year on Friday, William met frontline workers and control room staff who shared their experiences of verbal and physical attacks.
The visit allowed him to learn about the ongoing challenges faced by paramedics and call handlers who experience them while they provide critical emergency care to the capital.
Chief paramedic officer Pauline Cranmer revealed that London's ambulance crews and phone staff report approximately seven abuse incidents each day.
Ms Cranmer described these statistics as "quite horrifying" and noted an increase in staff coming forward to report incidents which ranged from verbal harassment to physical attacks.
The chief paramedic acknowledged the crucial role of the service's health and wellbeing team in supporting staff after traumatic incidents.
She highlighted their efforts to provide assistance "when something terrible has happened" whilst also working on preventative measures to protect emergency workers from future abuse.
Prince William has insisted there ‘must be a way to deal with’ abuse at work while visiting the London Ambulance Service headquarters in Waterloo
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Emergency call coordinator Nicole Whiteman shared her personal experiences with the Prince of Wales, explaining that she encounters abuse "daily" from callers.
She told William that whilst some swearing stems from caller stress, she also receives general abuse, which she described as "part of the job".
The future King firmly rejected this normalisation of harassment, insisting that abuse should never be considered an acceptable aspect of emergency work.
He stressed the significance of encouraging staff to report incidents, stating it was "really important" as "there's going to be loads of people sadly who've had these experiences who shut it down and don't speak about it".
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The future King was meeting with staff who have experinced harrowing abuse at work
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William became Patron of the College of Paramedics earlier this year, strengthening his connection to emergency services that began with his own experience as both an Air Ambulance and RAF Search and Rescue pilot.
During the visit, William toured the Emergency Operations Control room, where teams manage 999 calls around the clock.
He also viewed the service's fleet, including the world's first purpose-built all-electric ambulance and electric rapid response vehicles, and observed a training demonstration with specialist paramedics.
Earlier this week, the Prince of Wales reminisced about his own time as a rescue pilot as he toured RAF Benson with the Crown Prince of Jordan.
William also previously shared his enduring fondness for flying with pilots at RAF Benson
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"I do still fly – I keep my hours going. When you learn that skill set, you just don’t want it to go," William explained while talking to current pilots.
"I’ve definitely lost a lot of the skills I had, but I like to keep on top of my flying, keep doing it. And it’s my happy place, I love flying," the Prince.
William served as a helicopter pilot with the East Anglian Air Ambulance, flying missions for two years before stepping down in 2017.
"I miss the Search and Rescue – glory days," the future King reminisced.
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