'Against every single fibre of our being,' B.C.'s 911 operators union says of new system
B.C.'s emergency call takers union says a decision that says operators don't have to stay on the line with patients until they are transferred to the ambulance service is a stop-gap measure for a system that is on the brink of collapse.
It's supposed to take 911 operators 10 seconds to answer police emergency lines, but in June during B.C.'s heat dome, that wait was more than 47 minutes.
The delay was due to the amount of time it took to hand off calls to the BC Ambulance Service. Operators on hold with 911 callers couldn't hang up. Until now.
A new policy at E-Comm, the non-profit that runs the 911 call centres in the province, means call takers don't have to stay on the line until that call is transferred.
Oliver Grüter-Andrew, president and CEO of E-Comm said the decision means lower risk callers might have to wait on the line alone.
"We're allowing our call taker to judge the situation and to say this call waiting for ambulance to pick up is not a life or death situation for the call," he told CTV News, adding that if they see calls waiting for 911 at the same time, they may choose to hang up.
CUPE Local 8911 President Donald Grant said this is a Band-Aid solution, when what's really needed is a major injection of staff. He pointed to a recent Price Waterhouse Coopers report, which recommended an 84 per cent increase in staffing.
"There's nothing worse than wondering what is going to happen to someone," Grant told CTV News. The president of the local representing emergency communications professionals added, "Not knowing that that person is getting the help that they need goes against every single fibre of our being."
Ecomm says 30 per cent of calls to 911 are for ambulance service, and 70 per cent are for police or fire. Grüter-Andrew said while staffing would help, it wasn't practical partly due to a lack of funding and because of the time it takes to hire and train staff.
Grant sees it differently, saying if the report had been acted on "when it came out in march, we would be in an entirely different situation now."
The union is calling on local governments and municipalities to increase funding, which the non-profit admits would help, but without more money, says is simply not practical.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.