B.C. 911 changes slammed by call takers’ union

Emergency call takers in B.C. are stunned after E-Comm announced changes to how 9-1-1 operators transfer calls to the ambulance service.

Operators will no longer be waiting on the line with the caller until the ambulance dispatchers pick up — a wait the Emergency Communications Professionals of BC says can last minutes in a time where every second counts.

The group’s president says abandoning people during their time of need is simply unacceptable.

“Our first and primary concern is about the people who are calling into 9-1-1 in their most desperate time of need. When you call 9-1-1 it’s one of the worst days of your lives, and essentially, what’s going to happen now is that if you pick up the phone, call 9-1-1, and you ask for ambulance, the call taker’s going to say ‘You’re on the line for BC Ambulance, don’t hang up, but I have to disconnect and take other calls,” explained CUPE Local 8911 President Donald Grant.

Visit https://t.co/k8qMkP6IUl to demand a better 911 service in BC. Full media release available at https://t.co/AOUosw4oLb #secondscount #bcpoli #weare911 #911bc #BritishColumbia #Vancouver #VictoriaBC #YVR #yyj

— Emergency Communications Professionals of BC (@911ECPBC) December 2, 2021

“That’s a dramatic change from what used to happen. 9-1-1 operators are that safety blanket that’s there monitoring the line while you’re in the transfer.”

He says if something were to change, for example if someone were to go unconscious while waiting, people could be waiting as many as 20 minutes.

“A lot can change in that time and we’re really worried about patient outcomes,” added Grant. “A person calling would want a live person on the other end.”

On Wednesday, E-Comm announced its new process, saying it “will help free up 9-1-1 call takers so they can answer and handle incoming emergency calls more quickly.”

E-Comm says the transfer time, under normal circumstances, “averages 45 seconds.”

However, it notes that due to higher call volumes and increased demand for ambulance service, the wait time has been “much longer.”

“The extended wait times are continuing to result in significant delays for British Columbians calling 9-1-1, which is also difficult for our call takers who are being tied up and are therefore helpless to assist others,” said Oliver Grüter-Andrew, president and CEO of E-Comm.

“This new process puts the safety of all British Columbians first – and we believe this change will take some pressure off the emergency communications system that will allow our staff to potentially help save more lives.”

Grüter-Andrew notes 9-1-1 operators are also not medically trained and can’t give callers medical advice.

“This is not about being medically trained — it’s about being on the line and available to reassure callers in distress. We’re talking about human beings experiencing real emergencies, and to abandon them during their time of need is simply unacceptable,” said Grant in response in a release Wednesday. “You can imagine the worst-case scenario that can happen while waiting alone on the phone in your time of need.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: New call transfer process comes into effect today, to address strains on British Columbia’s 9-1-1 system. Learn more about the changes: https://t.co/lyw5lGEW7N #911BC pic.twitter.com/1yeu5Rb2Fh

— E-Comm 9-1-1 (@EComm911_info) December 1, 2021

CUPE Local 8911 says the move to put callers on hold simply “amounts to a stop gap measure” when what’s needed is funding support from governments, as well as a “new funding model to avoid catastrophic failure.”

“The real root cause here is staffing. There’s a staffing shortage at BC Ambulance but the province has announced more dispatcher positions. However, at E-Comm, they’ve commissioned a report … that says that they essentially need to double the amount of staff that we have right now. If that report had been acted on — it came out in March — we could be having almost double the amount of call takers and we wouldn’t be in this situation,” explained Grant.

Despite these changes, Grant is urging people to continue calling 9-1-1 if they need help.

He says not to hang up and call back, noting you’ll just end up at the end of the queue if you do so.

“We’re really worried about that because the wait times can be several minutes and while you’re on that call, it doesn’t tell you how much time you have remaining. You’re basically in the unknown during that time,” he told CityNews.

Related articles:

• B.C. 911 callers wait as long as 30 minutes for operator: E-Comm

• B.C. paramedic staffing shortage reaches crisis level: union

• Paramedic shortage in B.C. leading to longer wait times

E-Comm dispatches calls for 33 police stations and 40 fire departments in B.C., the union says.

It claims the “the E-Comm 9-1-1 system is at risk of catastrophic failure due to severe staffing shortages caused by a lack of funding.”

At times, some British Columbians have reported waiting as long as 30 minutes on hold with operators after calling 9-1-1.

During the summer’s heatwaves, wait times for ambulances also skyrocketed, sometimes as long as hours.

Earlier this year, the Ambulance Paramedics and Emergency Dispatchers of BC said long wait times and staffing shortages were reaching a breaking point.