Delta’s police department is hoping to eventually set up its own dispatch service for non-urgent emergency calls – if a couple of stumbling blocks could be cleared.
During a discussion about E-Comm at the Delta Police Board on Wednesday, Oct. 20, Chief Neil Dubord noted options to alleviate delays are being considered as dispatch wait times have become a major concern throughout the province.
The DPD established service standards for E-Comm to answer 88 per cent of emergency calls within 10 seconds and 80 per cent of non-emergency calls within three minutes.
“Unfortunately, E-Comm has not consistently been able meet the established service standards. The
DPD is aware that some Delta citizens have experienced long wait times to speak with an E-Comm call-taker, especially on the non-emergency line and have expressed their concerns to the DPD about the delays. E-Comm has noted that insufficient budgeting and associated staffing levels have contributed to the delays,” Dubord explained in his report to the board.
“The DPD remains committed to working with E-Comm to ensure that service level targets for Delta can be met, providing timely response to a citizen, whether they are in an emergency or non-emergency situation.”
Noting E-Comm has a different evaluation of response times in Delta because of the department’s “no call too small” policy, Dubord told the board the DPD is hoping to meet weekly with E-Comm representatives to review the emergency call centre’s pressures and complexities to find solutions.
Promoting more use the department’s online reporting tool for non-emergency calls is one idea.
Asked about Delta establishing its own dispatch service, Dubord acknowledged it’s a good idea as the DPD would have the resources, including technology, to have its own call centre for non-emergency situations.
The DPD would like to discuss having its own system with E-Comm, however, a stumbling block would be financing as well as the city having a contract with E-Comm which runs for several more years, he added.
Mayor George Harvie has sent a letter to Health Minister Adrian Dix conveying concerns about E-Comm 9-1-1 wait times.
The letter notes how Oliver Gruter-Andrew, E-Comm president and CEO, last month released a statement linking 9-1-1 wait times to staffing levels at BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS), noting that the risk to public safety from delays is of serious and growing concern to his organization.
The risk to public safety as a result of delays due to call-taking and dispatch staffing shortages is also of serious and growing concern to Delta council, Harvie wrote.
Also pointing out ambulance staffing issues in Delta and Richmond, Harvie noted that while he recognizes and appreciates the workload of paramedics, response times must “consistently and reliably meet applicable standards and resident needs.”
The province this year announced it will be funding new full-time paramedics and full-time dispatchers as part of a plan to improve call waits to 9-1-1 for ambulance service.
