With more than 65 volunteers supporting communities across North London, Hatzola HBS relies on fast, reliable connectivity. Here’s how Vodafone and its charities.connected programme is helping.
Having seen two friends pass away after an ambulance was unable to get to them in time, Jacky Epstein founded Hatzola HBS “by sheer force of character”.
The voluntary emergency ambulance service now operates alongside local NHS hospitals and other emergency services throughout the North London area.
Staffed exclusively by highly trained volunteers, and equipped with everything from ambulances to ECG machines, the organisation has already helped 85 patients since launching in July 2025.
Expensive equipment and extensive training aside, however, there is a slightly less obvious part of the equation that Mike Singer, Director and first responder at Hatzola HBS, says is also key to their success.
About Hatzola HBS
Hatzola HBS provides emergency care to most of the local communities of Hadley Wood, Barnet, Southgate, Cockfosters, Whetstone and Totteridge, including pre-hospital emergency medical treatment and hospital transportation.
The importance of connectivity for charity organisations
“Comms is our backbone,” Mike explains. “But, unlike similar organisations that mostly use walkie-talkies as their way of communications, we’ve decided to step a generation ahead and do everything electronically.”
To run this “effectively virtual service” Hatzola HBS relies on free Vodafone SIM cards, acquired through the company’s longstanding charities.connected scheme.
“Responders have either a mobile phone or tablet, which is when the SIM starts to come in for one of its main uses,” says Mike.
Loaded with 40GB data a month for six months, plus unlimited calls and texts, the SIMs can be requested by any charity through the Vodafone website.
Falling under the wider Vodafone everyone.connected programme to help close the digital divide, charities.connected has supported roughly 3,500 charities since August 2021.
“As you can imagine, we can’t be locked to a WiFi signal,” says Mike. “We need all of our devices to be 4G or 5G connected, because we don’t really know where we’ll be going.”
How SIM cards can offer a new start for those most in need
Vodafone provides organisations with free SIMs through its charities.connected programme. In turn, these charities can then provide refuge for people during the worst moments of their life.
How Hatzola HBS uses free Vodafone SIM cards
Once on the scene, Vodafone’s connectivity really comes into its own.
Responders use an app to verify they’ve seen the call once allocated to it. They then confirm when they arrive, request any additional resources if needed, and log their progress throughout.
The organisation has also just finished writing a module that collects all case notes and patient records in the system. Although, logging information isn’t the only time-sensitive act for Hatzola HBS responders.
“There’s an online Bible for responders called JRCALC PLUS,” explains Mike, “which we sometimes have to access. Or, in some cases, we need to contact senior doctors or consultants who will give us on-the-ground advice on how to treat a particularly unusual case.
“We have another app that logs all of our stock too, so they couldn’t do their job unless they had SIMs. And even the security in our storeroom runs through a WiFi hub with one of Vodafone’s SIMs, so it’s not just frontline that uses them but the back office too.”
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Why connectivity is essential for communities
After taking a few years to get off the ground, Hatzola HBS’s emergency volunteer service is now a valuable fixture of its local community.
By treating, stabilising and getting people the longer-term care they need, the North London charity is helping to support both the London Ambulance Service and their local community.
Increasingly, digital connectivity is playing an important part in this success.
“We took a little bit of a risk at the beginning by going all electronic when 90% of the industry is walkie-talkie-based,” admits Mike, “but we’ve found it’s worked incredibly well.”
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