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Emergency call handling concerns

Posted on November 5, 2009, 10:10am and updated on November 6, 2009 at 8:46 am

A member of the South East Country Fire Service has claimed the recent centralisation of Limestone Coast police communications to Adelaide will be inefficient and could end up costing people’s lives.

In a move the State Government says will boost police response to emergency situations all Limestone Coast police operations and triple zero calls were linked to the Adelaide-based network on November 1.

From there, the relevant emergency services are now contacted and dispatched to attend incidents.

However, Wattle Range CFS group officer Mike Kemp has spoken out against the centralisation of regional emergency operations, saying the long distance communication is seriously flawed and has already posed a danger to the community through a communication breakdown.

According to Mr Kemp, the new system caused a delayed response to a single vehicle rollover on the Southern Ports Highway, near Beachport, at 5am on Tuesday.

He said the ambulance service was notified of the potentially hazardous situation about 30 minutes before the call centre alerted fire crews.

“We have been complaining for some time about delays in the CFS being called out to car accidents when we are supposed to be notified immediately,” Mr Kemp said.

“It was a gross oversight that could be fatal to injured parties or other emergency service personnel working at the scene; our crews attend these incidents for fire protection and rescue which can be time critical.”

In June this year, Mr Kemp attributed a series of delays in CFS vehicle accident callouts to regional call centre cutbacks by the State Government, saying: “To put our faith in a centralised system is a joke … we should not set ourselves up for failure.”

Mr Kemp has stood by his comments and yesterday told The Border Watch he believed Tuesday’s delay was the result of a breakdown in the new police call receipt and dispatch system.

“If there was a breakdown in the system in the event of a fire, how long would it be before we’ll hear about it?” he said.

“Fire, police and ambulance are now all based in the metropolitan area.

“It’s a recipe for disaster.”

Mr Kemp has called for review of the government policy centralising personnel and services to Adelaide.

District Council of Grant mayor Don Pegler has also expressed unease at the centralisation of regional emergency service operations.

“If the moves are going to increase emergency response capabilities, of course it’s a good thing,” Mr Pegler said.

“However, I am concerned at local knowledge, particularly regarding the pronunciations and locations of rural roads and places, being taken out of the picture by centralisation.

“When people are in a crisis they sometimes become confused.

“It is vital the operator knows where to dispatch emergency crews immediately.

“If someone is vague or unclear it is often easier for a local person to figure out their location in circumstances of a time-critical emergency.”

Police have said the new system will improve communications.

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Comments

14 Responses to “Emergency call handling concerns”

  1. Jay on November 6th, 2009 3:21 pm 1

    The SA Ambulance service has been doing this for several years and it works very well. If people are concerned on just pronounciation then they shouldnt be. If people have their property rapid numbers and correct details up to date with clear signage on there properties, local crews will know exactly where to go. People seem to think that by centralising communications that this will slow response times, however in the case of ambulance despatch, the moment your call is taken, an ambulance is despatched and can often arrive before the call has ended. Thank god for progress.

  2. AP on November 7th, 2009 10:51 am 2

    Jay, I’m afraid that you are not very well informed at all. What you are saying in regard to properties is correct but the problems that Mr Kemp refers to is mostly vehicle accidents where there is no rapid numbers visible. When the Ambulance communications was done in Mount Gambier and somebody called to say there was an accident 20kms from Mount Gambier towards Nelson the operator would know which road they were talking about and send the appropriate services. About 12 months ago a guy I know called 000 and the operator in Adelaide had no idea where he was talking about, it took over 10 minutes before an Ambulance crew was dispatched to this accident. Unless you say the name of the road that is in their database they generally have no clue which services should respond. This road is known as Nelson Road, Glenelg River Road and Punt Road so which road do they have in their database and this is just one example of how lack of local knowledge will cause confusion.

    Last night the SA Ambulance Service and CFS were called to vehicle accident at Greenways (near Robe), turns out the new improved Police communications in Adelaide got the address wrong, but don’t worry it only took 17 minutes for them to work it out.

  3. Jay on November 8th, 2009 9:38 am 3

    If an address is not in the data base it can be entered manually. So, in the case of the road to Nelson, it would be clearly stated to responding crews that the incident is approx 20km south in the Nelson road. The communications centre would seek clarification from the crew to ensure they know exactly where they are going.

    Even when communications were local there were issues. For example, the existing model had only ONE operator to answer multiple 000 and general booking calls whilst expected to despatch vehicles from Mount Gambier as far up to Keith, Bordertown, Meningie, Kingston, Robe, Millicent, Naracoorte, Nangwarry, Penola, Lucindale, Padthaway and Salt Creek, whilst co-ordinating the despatch of other services i.e. fire and rescue. The pressure placed on an operator at times would be horrendous. Currently, the communications centre have dedicated operators to answer 000 calls and dedicated people to despatch cars. This, as im sure you can agree, is a far preferential system to the existing model.

    In my experience, the community are not well informed and only see one perspective, in this case Mr Kemp’s view. His argument has merit, however, has not thought through the reasons for the centralisation. He is quoted as saying the new system is flawed and “inefficient”. If the above method is inefficient then perhaps he could suggest a far better model that proves cost efficient.

    I find it amusing that some people tend to slag off systems that have a proven track record of efficient despatch, getting help to thousands of South Australians every year.

    The community need to give the new system a fair go and also a fair go to the operators. We all need to expect teething problems initially, but im sure that in time to come, the people of South Australia will find that in their time of need, the appropriate resource will be sent quickly and efficiently. A far better system than what we have been used to.

  4. AP on November 8th, 2009 1:38 pm 4

    They can enter an manual address but they spend precious minutes trying to find an address in their system because they have no local knowledge. They then have to try and work out which Ambulance, Police, Fire/Rescue services depending on the location of the accident and which call centre they are in.

    I’m sure Mr Kemp is fully aware of what the reasons for the centralisation are, the main one being cost. Unfortunately, it is another example of the public service being centralized. It is great for those that live in Adelaide but the rest of us suffer as a consequence. The local communications was much better and if the operator was under extreme pressure then perhaps at they should have expanded regional communications systems with operators that knew the local area and systems.

    I’m glad that you find such an important issue amusing, it’s only lives on the line. What price are people prepared to put on these lives?

    The current Ambulance and MFS communications systems have been operating for a number of years and still having problems with locations, what makes you think the Police are going to get it right?

  5. Jay on November 8th, 2009 3:35 pm 5

    It is just tunnel vision. We always seem to hear of one service in particular with their constant complaining. It seems to work extremely well for others, so, I guess its just hard to please the small minority.

    Tis all well and good to have someone with local knowledge on the phone, but even then they can not be expected to know every road in the LSE. Police and ambulance crews are often made up of non-local crews so I guess that even if correct locations are given, crews may not know the area they are working in.

    I only find it amusing that some people slag off proven systems. It appears to me that some are just anti-change. Change for the better.

    This issue can be debated till the cows come home. Only time will tell. Give it a go people.

  6. AP on November 26th, 2009 10:19 pm 6

    I don’t know where you get your information but the systems aren’t proven and it’s more than one service that has a problem, get your head out of the sand and speak to people in the emergency services and get their opinions.

  7. H on November 26th, 2009 11:54 pm 7

    AP… How do you know Jay isn’t in the emergency services? Are you?

    My Dad was… Did comms for a number of years.. And whilst yeah, the old system did have its merits, the new system does to… It just gets sensationalised when an error that may well and still did happen under the old system, and people have to blame someone, so they pick the easy target.

    So I don’t know that it’s Jay with their head in the sand..

  8. AP on November 27th, 2009 9:21 am 8

    H.….That’s nice that your Dad WAS. I AM in the Emergency Services and have a number of friends in a variety of the services.

    I’m talking about current events, things that affect people today and in the future. When your Dad worked in Comms he would have been able to respond other services while still on the phone to the caller, now 5 – 6 minutes delays are considered acceptable in life threat situations. The more we give in to technology and rely less on the human factor the more problems we are going to have.

    I’ve been around long enough to have seen both systems and although there were problems with the old system (mostly human) the new systems have human and procedural flaws.

    I can see that we’re not going to see eye-to-eye on this issue by discussion. All I can suggest is that you that you remember that what your Dad has told you is about the old system and go and get the thoughts of the current emergency service workers. Make sure you speak to people from a wide range of services so you don’t get a narrow point of view.

  9. Jay Mancuso on November 27th, 2009 9:30 pm 9

    And yes, I am a full time emergency services worker.

  10. Wayne Stapleton on November 29th, 2009 8:07 pm 10

    I have had the opportunity to work with both systems over the years. The local dispatch and later the centralized system based in Adelaide. There is no doubt in my option that the central system in Adelaide was better, faster and well informed. Most local operators were by them selves with little resources and really not an outstanding amount of local knowledge that seem to be implied. Beside there are people working in town with local understanding. I think Mr. Kemp need to stop and look at the situation with out the emotive attitude. There will always be errors made and it is necessary that we attempt to reduce these to zero if we can. Local dispatch is a big step back.

  11. H on November 29th, 2009 9:45 pm 11

    AP… I have.. And you have my answer.

  12. AP on November 29th, 2009 10:24 pm 12

    The world doesn’t revolve around SAAS, as I have said earlier speak to people from ALL of the services and get a balanced view of the three systems. As I said earlier we aren’t going to see eye-to-eye on this issue and there are still some major flaws that have been pointed and and not addressed. This is my last post on this matter. Good day to you all and good “luck” if you’re ever in trouble.

  13. Jay on November 30th, 2009 9:20 am 13

    That seems to be the opinion of most. They dont understand the systems and tend to bury their head in the sand when they discover it is far out of their depth. Good on you AP for having a go.

  14. Wayne Stapleton on November 30th, 2009 11:47 am 14

    It easy to be critical about a system, I would not pretend that the system is perfect but there are people working very hard to improve the network across all the emergency services. All I am saying is this system is better than what we had. To quote a great orator “the good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow aint as bad as it seems” (Billy Joel 1983). When you are in trouble the current system removes the need for luck. Thank for you passion AP.

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