Ambulance phone operators are pleading with the public to stop abusing them, after some callers threatened to track them down and murder their families.

NSW Ambulance said up to 8 per cent of callers were abusive.

Ambulance Commissioner Dominic Morgan has urged callers to stop treating his staff like "verbal punching bags".

"Imagine what that would be like, knowing you were going to be abused in your workplace every day," Commissioner Morgan said.

"There is never any excuse for being abusive towards a call-taker."

One caller was recorded saying: "Listen here bitch, just get here now or I'll f***ing kill you." Another caller said: "I have a gun and I'll find you."

Alicia Stead, a call-taker based in Sydney, said her family had been threatened.

"I have been threatened with weapons. My family, my children, my grandparents," she said.

Another phone operator, Chantelle Connell, said she faced abuse on a daily basis.

NSW Ambulance Commisioner Dominic Morgan has called on the public to treat phone operators with more respect. ( ABC News: Nick Dole )

"It takes its toll and it's just not acceptable," she said.

Ms Connell said many of the abusive callers were frustrated with the detailed questions they were asked.

The questions help paramedics find patients and determine the seriousness of their conditions.

"Our questions aren't silly and they aren't a waste of time. They are to help us to help you."

Ms Connell said she understood that many callers were in a distressed state.

"We have empathy for the situation they're in, but I guess there comes a time comes when you think ... I don't know how much more of this I can take."

Nine-year-old honoured for helping mum during stroke

Some callers do all the right things. When nine-year-old Noah Mattani's mother suffered a stroke in the car, he calmly provided information about her condition to an ambulance staffer.

Noah Mattani, with his mother Nicole, has been recognised with a Star Award. ( ABC News: Nick Dole )

"I knew something wasn't right with her, but I didn't know what, so I was scared," he said.

"The paramedics talked me through it ... they asked me to ask her if she could smile."

Noah also turned the car's hazard lights on to help paramedics find them.

He has been honoured with an Ambulance Star Award, for staying cool under pressure.

His mother Nicole, who has now recovered, said she was "extremely proud".

"He's a little champion," she said.