British Columbia’s 911 operators will no longer wait with callers during emergencies

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British Columbia’s 911 dispatchers will no longer wait on the phone with callers until help arrives, a move the union representing the dispatchers says will leave those seeking emergency assistance alone with no one monitoring their situation and providing guidance.

E-Comm, the agency that oversees the 911 dispatch system in B.C., announced the decision in a news release Wednesday. The change aims to enable call-takers to answer more phone calls more quickly. The organization maintains it can potentially save lives.

The agency also said the new process will help relieve the emotional stress of E-Comm call-takers who are having to wait on the line with callers in medical distress, knowing they are unable to assist any further and are aware there are other 911 calls waiting.

But the union representing dispatchers at E-Comm and the union representing paramedics say the change will not solve the root cause of the province’s overwhelmed emergency response system, and they expressed concerns for the safety of callers being left alone.

“This is an extreme stopgap measure,” said Donald Grant, president of the Emergency Communications Professionals of BC (CUPE Local 8911).

Troy Clifford, president of the Ambulance Paramedics of BC union, agreed. He added the new process could end up adding to the workload for his members if they have to call back the 911 callers for more information.

After a call is disconnected, he said, “We may have to call back and determine more, which causes more workload, or that people may be in more of a fear or panic because of the emergency they’re seeing. So they’ll require extra de-escalation skills or management of a volatile situation because people are frustrated or scared, rightfully so.”

Before the change, the protocol required the E-Comm dispatcher to wait on the line with a 911 caller as the dispatcher connected with the appropriate emergency service agency, whether it be the paramedics, police or firefighters. E-Comm says the transfer time averages 45 seconds under normal circumstances, but it’s taking much longer because of higher call volumes and increased demands on the ambulance service. During the heat dome this past summer, some callers were unable to get through to 911 and, once they did, spent hours on the phone, waiting for emergency help to arrive.

“The extended wait times are continuing to result in significant delays for British Columbians calling 911, which is also difficult for our call takers who are being tied up and are therefore helpless to assist others,” E-Comm chief executive officer Oliver Gruter-Andrew said in a news release.

The change means callers will be advised they are in the queue for an ambulance and that the 911 call-taker needs to disconnect so they can answer other incoming calls.

E-Comm and BC Emergency Health Services, or BCEHS, said they’ve implemented measures to separate potentially life-threatening calls from less-urgent emergencies, among other process changes to better manage calls.

Jasmine Bradley, executive director of communications and public affairs for E-Comm, said the scripting for 911 call takers to use before disconnecting, and BCEHS’ recorded announcement, have been revised to provide clear instructions to the caller who is waiting for an ambulance. She said this includes particular steps the caller can take if their situation worsens while waiting.

Last summer, B.C.’s record-breaking heat wave, which claimed nearly 600 lives, pushed the 911 system into crisis. It prompted the provincial government to increase resources to ease the stain on the system. BCEHS said it has added more than 30 new positions in its dispatch centres and will bring in more in the days to come, as new call-takers and dispatchers complete their training.

Mr. Clifford with the ambulance paramedics union said the additional 30 staff is helpful, but it hasn’t translated into answering calls in a more timely fashion.

“Quite frankly, we’re so far behind. We got still got a long way to go,” he said.

Mr. Grant pointed to a recent report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers that found E-Comm needed to increase staffing levels by 84 per cent to meet operational demand.

He said the report suggests that the current roster of 153 full-time call takers needs to increase by 125.

“We’re calling on local governments to take a concerted effort to increase the number of staff at E-Comm urgently and then reevaluate this funding formula so that we don’t end up in the situation ever again,” he said.

E-Comm’s Ms. Bradley said current 911 call-taking delays are primarily being driven by the number of requests for the ambulance service. She said because it’s the same people answering 911 calls and police calls, it limits the agency’s ability to absorb the effects of delays in being able to transfer calls to the ambulance service.

She said her organization is making every effort to ensure it has appropriate staffing and has increased its recruitment efforts.

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