The first call I answered was a little too easy. A 79-year-old woman in the 3000-block of Douglas St. had a stomach ache. I typed in the Saanich address into the empty field on the monitor in front of me and asked the caller a series of questions about her illness.
ProQA, the program used by emergency medical dispatchers for the B.C. Ambulance Service, confirmed the minor sickness, categorized the call as low-priority and an ambulance was sent out to the familiar locale B次元官网网址� or at least it would have been, had I answered an actual phone call.
Instead, I was responding to Bill Hadden, the emergency medical dispatcher leading me through a media training session Aug. 16 in the ambulance serviceB次元官网网址檚 Saanich training facility.
Despite the low stakes, the pressure was on when Hadden took on his second role of my faux training session B次元官网网址� a condensed 10-minute overview of a three-week-long training course.
From the seat behind me, Hadden transformed into a caller from a street address IB次元官网网址檝e never heard of and had no idea how to spell. Finally I ask the caller and he tells me itB次元官网网址檚 in Boston Bar B次元官网网址� a tiny community I admit I had to Google later to locate. The callerB次元官网网址檚 78-year-old father has collapsed and isnB次元官网网址檛 breathing.
After what felt like 20 minutes of scripted questions, I arrive at ProQAB次元官网网址檚 suggestion: cardiac arrest. The process would take a trained dispatcher about 90 seconds to complete, Hadden said.
But even with the quickest dispatcher the arrival of an ambulance takes time.
Last month when Nicholas WoodiwissB次元官网网址檚 heart stopped while riding his bicycle in Royal Oak, four bystanders performed life-saving cardiopulmonary respiration. The incident earned the bystanders a Vital Link award for the action they took in the nine-minutes before paramedics arrived and exemplified the zero-minute response time the ambulance service strives to achieve.
B次元官网网址淵ou need to be reassuring,B次元官网网址� Hadden said of the process of empowering callers with the knowledge they need to support the patient, which often includes administering potentially life-saving treatment. B次元官网网址淵ou, yourself need to be calm, confident and clear. You need to direct people even when theyB次元官网网址檙e not confident or losing hope.B次元官网网址�
Meanwhile a counter tool popped up on the monitor to my left. Like a metronome, it set the pace for compressions. I told the caller IB次元官网网址檒l count out loud while they perform chest compressions.
Leading a caller through CPR isnB次元官网网址檛 a situation Hadden deals with every day, necessarily, but after four years on the job, and thousands of phone calls, itB次元官网网址檚 one heB次元官网网址檚 used to managing. Part of that management involves asking questions exactly as they appear in ProQA B次元官网网址� without changing a single word and risking a change from the original meaning B次元官网网址� while counselling individuals through extremely traumatic events.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檝e gotta know when to rein them back in. Most people submit to requests,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou have to know what type of person youB次元官网网址檙e dealing with. EveryoneB次元官网网址檚 subtly different.B次元官网网址�
West Shore RCMP dispatcher Chelsea Chang was commended for keeping a five-year-old girl on the phone after the girlB次元官网网址檚 mother suffered from an epileptic seizure and lay unconscious outside her Langford home on Aug. 15.
Though ChangB次元官网网址檚 ability to remain calm and communicate with the young caller involves the same kind of care required of a B.C. Ambulance Service dispatcher, Hadden points to one of the major differences between ambulance dispatchers and those with other emergency services: the volume of calls.
Last year, B.C. Ambulance Service responded to 486,000 events across the province, or an average of 56 events per hour from three centres, whereas police and fire services are administered regionally.
The ground fleet travels 20.2 million kilometres per year or more than 500 trips around the world. The B.C. Ambulance Service currently employs 3,668 paramedics and dispatchers provincewide, and theyB次元官网网址檙e looking for more. By welcoming media into their training room, the service is also hoping to attract new members for dispatcher training in September B次元官网网址� if theyB次元官网网址檝e got the right skills.
It all comes down to compassion, flexibility and adaptability, according to Corinne Begg, provincial dispatch training officer.
B次元官网网址�(Dispatchers need) the ability to remain calm in very stressful situations and to remain calm with all of the stimulation going on around you,B次元官网网址� Begg said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e looking for someone whoB次元官网网址檚 able to have a lot going on at the same time.B次元官网网址�
nnorth@saanichnews.com
- With files from Kyle Wells
