Staff say triple-0 emergency call service is undermanned

Date
    December 26, 2013

James Robertson
Reporter


EXCLUSIVE

A woman was on hold for 13 minutes while calling for an ambulance this month, the second recent report of a lengthy delay and one described by the Health Minister as concerning.      :o

Last week, it was revealed that a triple-0 caller in August had spent up to 20 minutes on hold.

    When you can't take the calls - a spiral happens.

Ambulance NSW blamed that delay on ''unprecedented'' demand for ambulances but staff inside the call centre complained of chronic staffing shortages.   >:(    

A member of the public has contacted Fairfax Media to say she had waited 13 minutes when calling for an ambulance for someone at her work suspected to be suffering a heart complaint early this month.


''It just rang constantly,'' she said. ''Thankfully, this was not a case of someone bleeding out or not breathing.

''All I could think was, 'thank god, it's not one of my loved ones.'''

The woman got through to the front-line triple-0 call centre instantly but spent minutes on hold as an operator tried to connect her to an ambulance call centre.

Ambulance NSW did not deny this account and said it had received an ''avalanche'' of calls that day, causing delays between 7pm and 8pm. It said it was unaware of any patient's health being harmed as a result of the delay.

''I'm concerned by reports of NSW Ambulance call centre delays,'' Health Minister Jillian Skinner said. The minister said she would ask the head of Ambulance NSW to investigate the issue and brief her in the new year.

Staff at the NSW Ambulance call centre say delays answering calls are becoming more common because there are not enough staff for the rise in the number of calls.      >:(

''There is a limit to what is humanly possible,'' one employee who works at the Sydney call centre for Ambulance NSW said. ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - that is a call every three minutes or so. When you can't take the calls - a spiral happens.''

The ambulance service receives a call once every 26 seconds - or more than 1 million a year - and between May and November this year it said 90 per cent of the calls were answered within six seconds.

A report by the Auditor-General in July found that requests to be taken to hospital in an ambulance were growing at a rate of 4 per cent a year in response to an ageing and growing population.

Ambulance NSW says it has increased the number of its full-time call centre staff by 7 per cent over the past five years.

A second report by the Auditor-General this month found the number of ambulance workers who had logged more than 500 hours' overtime was equivalent to the rest of the health sector combined.

The report also found Ambulance NSW staff were the least ''engaged'' of the entire workforce.

Opposition health spokesman Andrew McDonald said ambulance funding had not kept up with rising demand. ''We're slowly going backwards,'' he said.   :(    

Mrs Skinner said the Ambulance NSW budget was at record levels and had increased 5.5 per cent this year.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/staff-say-triple0-emergency-call-service-is-undermanned-20131225-2zwrg.html#ixzz2ocIiceAR

In a word - unbelievable.  How about putting some more staff on?.  These liberal governments, are something else.      >:(      

''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift -

Whatever happened to an eight hour shift?

How have we managed to turn the tables backward in this bazaar alien freak working world we live in?

Who forgot that it's eight hours work, eight hours rest and eight hours play?

Greed inc.

When health and emergency services spend all their money on pretty buildings, machines that go "ping', a burgeoning management layer of numpties, and compliance with ludicrous OH and S laws, there is not much money left to employ actual human beings ;)

There should be no excuse, for having emergency call centers understaffed.  Simply saying we can not afford it, does not wash.      >:(      

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:12am:

In a word - unbelievable.  How about putting some more staff on?.  These liberal governments, are something else.      >:(

I agree. Let's recruit more staff and have Anna Bligh (ALP Qld) put in charge of training.


Quote:

Your fault, your problem: triple-0 rebuff to stranded flood mum Donna Rice SEVEN minutes after a triple-0 operator told Donna Rice it was her own fault for driving into a flooded street and that she should call a tow truck herself to get out, her 13-year-old son was back on the line pleading to be saved. Clinging to the roof of the family car, as water poured in through the windows, Jordan Rice begged emergency crews to "hurry up" after they were caught by the flash flood that smashed through the centre of Toowoomba on January 10. Queensland's floods inquiry yesterday heard a triple-0 call in which Jordan told the operator he was "nearly drowning". A woman, presumably his mother, could be heard screaming in the background. Seven minutes earlier, Rice called triple-0, only to be quizzed by a policeman why she had put them in the path of the torrent. Both died after Jordan begged rescuers to first take his little brother, Blake, who survived the ordeal. In Jordan's call, made at 1.57pm, he told the operator: "We're nearly drowning. Hurry up please." His mother could be heard, in the background, yelling: "F . . k, it's coming." [...] http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/your-fault-your-problem-triple-0-rebuff-to-stranded-flood-mum-donna-rice/story-fn59niix-1226041832926

Oh Anna, you are very popular.

I had to call 000 on Christmas Day. The conversation went like this:
Operator: "What town or suburb are you in?"
Me: Name of suburb
Operator "Is that in Brisbane?"
Me: "Yes."
Operator: "I'll connect you to your local service."

The operator worked for Telstra...

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:12am:

In a word - unbelievable.  How about putting some more staff on?.  These liberal governments, are something else.      >:(

Cuts to public services is the 'opportunity cost' of successive Labor Govts overspending.

Those Labor governments, were something else.....

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:32am:

There should be no excuse, for having emergency call centers understaffed.  Simply saying we can not afford it, does not wash.      >:(

oh look its the DOOM AND GLOOM brigade..

someone didnt get a visit from santa did he???>. :D :D

does this guy ever find anything good to publish..

go away Mr Misery...you are such a bore..

maybe crook should spend some time in PNG... where they want to spend our money on CHINESE made DRUGS>..

go and look at some real problems.. mate...

Hope if you need an ambulance cods, someone can get through for you in reasonable time.      :(         

There is no excuse to cut back on 000 services.....NO excuse.

NSW state government FAIL!!!


If they can't do better than this, maybe it's time to outsource it to India  :)

where is it you want the ambulance

Bondi

Bombay you say?

No.....

I have a very good phone plan for you sir

I need an ambulance

this plan I have for you sir.......$34 free calls....hello, hello...are you there sir.....I can't hear you sir.....this very good plan for you sir

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:56am:

There is no excuse to cut back on 000 services.....NO excuse. NSW state government FAIL!!! If they can't do better than this, maybe it's time to outsource it to India  :) where is it you want the ambulance Bondi Bombay you say? No..... I have a very good phone plan for you sir I need an ambulance this plan I have for you sir.......$34 free calls....hello, hello...are you there sir.....I can't hear you sir.....this very good plan for you sir

he ambulance service receives a call once every 26 seconds - or more than 1 million a year - and between May and November this year it said 90 per cent of the calls were answered within six seconds.

A report by the Auditor-General in July found that requests to be taken to hospital in an ambulance were growing at a rate of 4 per cent a year in response to an ageing and growing population.

Ambulance NSW says it has increased the number of its full-time call centre staff by 7 per cent over the past five years.

A second report by the Auditor-General this month found the number of ambulance workers who had logged more than 500 hours' overtime was equivalent to the rest of the health sector combined.

The report also found Ambulance NSW staff were the least ''engaged'' of the entire workforce.

Opposition health spokesman Andrew McDonald said ambulance funding had not kept up with rising demand. ''We're slowly going backwards,'' he said.   Sad    

Mrs Skinner said the Ambulance NSW budget was at record levels and had increased 5.5 per cent this year.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/staff-say-triple0-emergency-call-service-is-undermanned-20131225-2zwrg.html#ixzz2ocIiceAR
Back to top      

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:52am:

Hope if you need an ambulance cods, someone can get through for you in reasonable time.      :(

lets put it this way.. I wont be depending on you or any labor govt thats for sure...tell us all about what the 15 years if Labor did in NSW come on lets hear it????.. oh thats right Eddie Obeid made a motza didnt he???whilst all the CHIEFS turned their blind eye towards him...we saw nussssssing.. ::) ::)..

what are you doing about the problems in the Ambulance service...??? they have an awful lot of bullying and favoritism in the service..and the ambos are very unhappy got not a thing to do with the govt...its all about culture.....driven by the unions..

so what are you doing about that????

I wonder if all those new welfare people that the LABOR GOVT encouraged to come here on riskety boats has anything to do with the congestion... ::) ::).. nah almost sure they wouldnt want anything for nothing and add to our burden.

Well at least lets put enough staff on, in the emergency call centers.  Don't you think that would be a good start?.  Or are we going to try and save a few dollars, by keeping them understaffed?.      :(         

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:32am:

There should be no excuse, for having emergency call centers understaffed.  Simply saying we can not afford it, does not wash.      >:(

What do you do when you can't afford something Crook?  Charge the credit card perhaps?  Mortgage the house?  What happens when the card is maxed and you owe more than the house is worth and you still can't afford the essentials?

Cut back somewhere?  Eventually you'll have to unless you boost your income somehow.

How does the Govt fund more services without blowing the budget?

Charge people that use its services perhaps instead of making it free?  Geesus there'd be a riot...... ;D

Cut the rate of pay of existing public servants so that they can employ more?  Geesus there'd be a riot...... ;D

Put up income taxes?........Geesus there'd be a riot...... ;D

Sell an asset?........Geesus there'd be a riot...... ;D


Labor just runs up debt because the above scenarios are much too electorally unpalitable although running up debt is akin to a Tax increase.  It's the tax payer that will have to pay it back but that will be down the track and the Liberals will have to deal with that won't they?  >:(

So are you saying, we can't afford to keep our emergency call centers properly staffed?.      :(    

The quicker emergency services can get to patients, the much better position they will be in to give them treatment and help them recover.

Of course they should be properly staffed to save lives, but even from a financial point of view they should be running on all cylinders. 

cods wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 8:15am:

wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:52am: Hope if you need an ambulance cods, someone can get through for you in reasonable time.      :(          lets put it this way.. I wont be depending on you or any labor govt thats for sure...tell us all about what the 15 years if Labor did in NSW come on lets hear it????.. oh thats right Eddie Obeid made a motza didnt he???whilst all the CHIEFS turned their blind eye towards him...we saw nussssssing.. ::) ::).. what are you doing about the problems in the Ambulance service...??? they have an awful lot of bullying and favoritism in the service..and the ambos are very unhappy got not a thing to do with the govt...its all about culture.....driven by the unions.. so what are you doing about that????

you just can't help yourself can you? Even in a thread about shortages to OOO you can't help by drag Obeid into it ... you're pathetic

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 8:40am:

So are you saying, we can't afford to keep our emergency call centers properly staffed?.      :(

I'm saying it's not as easy as just putting more staff on.  Such an action needs to be funded.  If there are no funds then obviously affordability is an issue.

Swagman wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 9:24am:

I'm saying it's not as easy as just putting more staff on.  Such an action needs to be funded.  If there are no funds then obviously affordability is an issue.

Dead people don't pay taxes.  The emergency services save lives, but they also save a lot of money

wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 8:23am:

Well at least lets put enough staff on, in the emergency call centers.  Don't you think that would be a good start?.  Or are we going to try and save a few dollars, by keeping them understaffed?.      :(

yeah but all those new staff want paying and they want penalty rates and they want long service leave an d they want and they want and they want.....

yep what are you giving up; to help pay for them... all those in favor of giving something up say AYE!


anyone??? coooeeee... anyone?????????

cods wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 8:17am:

I wonder if all those new welfare people that the LABOR GOVT encouraged to come here on riskety boats has anything to do with the congestion... ::) ::).. nah almost sure they wouldnt want anything for nothing and add to our burden.

Haha Yep the idiot left want to have their cake and eat it too, they want to spend billions on bringing hundreds of thousands of unemployed muslims here to keep as pets then squeal when theres no money left for call centres ... Idiots!  ;D

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 7:15am:

''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift?

These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common.

Bam wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 11:52am:

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common.

I know Bam, like the mining industry.

I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's.

John Smith wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 8:46am:

cods wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 8:15am: wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:52am: Hope if you need an ambulance cods, someone can get through for you in reasonable time.      :(          lets put it this way.. I wont be depending on you or any labor govt thats for sure...tell us all about what the 15 years if Labor did in NSW come on lets hear it????.. oh thats right Eddie Obeid made a motza didnt he???whilst all the CHIEFS turned their blind eye towards him...we saw nussssssing.. ::) ::).. what are you doing about the problems in the Ambulance service...??? they have an awful lot of bullying and favoritism in the service..and the ambos are very unhappy got not a thing to do with the govt...its all about culture.....driven by the unions.. so what are you doing about that???? you just can't help yourself can you? Even in a thread about shortages to OOO you can't help by drag Obeid into it ... you're pathetic

I agree. I just call this kind of irrelevant crap for the non sequitur fallacy that it is and move on. No need to refute it further.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 11:57am:

Bam wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:52am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common. I know Bam, like the mining industry. I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's.

Corporate greed killed that stone dead, sadly.

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 11:57am:

Bam wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:52am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common. I know Bam, like the mining industry. I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's.

12-hour shifts have been tried in many places and found to work well. The work week isn't actually longer, just different.

Kat wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 11:59am:

Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:57am: Bam wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:52am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common. I know Bam, like the mining industry. I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's. Corporate greed killed that stone dead, sadly.

It's the public service Felix.... :D

Swagman wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 1:36pm:

Kat wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:59am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:57am: Bam wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:52am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common. I know Bam, like the mining industry. I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's. Corporate greed killed that stone dead, sadly. It's the public service Felix.... :D

;) ;) Is that Felix the Kat !

Swagman wrote on Dec 27^th, 2013 at 1:36pm:

Kat wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:59am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:57am: Bam wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 11:52am: Ex Dame Pansi wrote on Dec 27th, 2013 at 7:15am: ''Most Sydney call takers [are] taking on average 150 to 200 calls in a 12-hour shift - Whatever happened to an eight hour shift? These workers are shift workers, which is a necessary requirement when staffing a 24-hour call service. For shift workers, the shift arrangements vary but 12-hour shifts are quite common. I know Bam, like the mining industry. I was just wondering, why not have three eight hour shifts, like was normal practice in the 80's and 90's. Corporate greed killed that stone dead, sadly. It's the public service Felix.... :D

What is, the mining industry?

Or any job with 12-hour shifts?

My response was in the context of the post I replied to.