The B.C. Liberal government proclaimed April 13-19 as Emergency Service Dispatchers’ and 9-1-1 Awareness Week to recognize the skills and dedication of call takers and dispatchers throughout the province.
BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) emergency medical call takers (EMCTs) and emergency medical dispatchers (EMDs) are the first point of contact for medical assistance during an emergency. These calm, reassuring and highly trained personnel assess the patient’s clinical needs, surroundings and geographic location; provide life-saving information – such as CPR and childbirth – instructions to 9-1-1 callers; and ensure the right ambulance, gets to the right patient, in the right time.
Last year, BCAS dispatchers co-ordinated responses to more than 413,000 pre-hospital events. While many of the calls they received involved life-threatening situations from cardiac arrests to childbirth to motor vehicle incidents, some, however, were not of an urgent nature and did not require paramedic care.
Examples of some of the more unusual calls include:
• There is a racoon in my garden and he looks angry. Can you take him away?
• Can you tell me how to cook my turkey?
• My shower drain is clogged.
• Could you tell me the time, please?
• I’m out of beer.
• I think my house is infested with fleas. Can someone come and check it out?
• My husband and I just woke from the same nightmare. We’re concerned about our bad dream.
• I finished my dinner two hours ago, but it feels like there might be a piece of rice still stuck in my throat.
• I think my fish has died. Can you give me CPR instructions to revive him?
• I can’t get through to my cell provider. Can you help me?
Gord Kirk, BCAS director of dispatch operations, strongly recommends that 9-1-1 calls for ambulance service be used for medical emergencies only.
“It’s important to remember that we’re here to help people with emergency medical situations. Calls that are inappropriate divert resources from those who need swift medical attention.”
The BCAS encourages the public to dial 9-1-1 for assistance during a medical emergency. Alternatives to calling an ambulance include contacting the 8-1-1 tele-health service, accessing a walk-in clinic, making an appointment with a family doctor or visiting a hospital emergency department if necessary.
Hospital emergency departments triage all patients that arrive, including those by ambulance.
