A Facebook user, Pam Kaur, shared how she witnessed an accident and called 995, and the operator allegedly hung up on her.
Here is what she said
Last night, we witnessed an accident at 2:40 am on CTE before exit 8B. A drunk driver in a Sirocco was driving in and out of lanes before he finally hit a motorcyclist.
Having seen the entire thing happen, we NATURALLY stopped to help and called 995. The responder asked where our location was and what number the lampost was closest to us.
If you didn’t already know this, all lampposts have numbers on them. After taking all the details, she called back again to ask for the lamppost number.
This was infuriating. It stinks of incompetence, lack of urgency and stupidity. I said by the time the ambulance arrives at the scene because you have a listening problem DESPITE MY CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS, the motorcyclist would have died.
The AUDACITY of this bonehead to say ‘I don’t like your tone. I don’t like the way you are speaking to me. And she hung up. You read that right. SHE. HUNG. UP.
Why the hell do you think your pathetic ego and feelings would be more important than the man who needs IMMEDIATE medical attention?
Yes, okay I snapped at you. BUT aren’t you trained to deal with frantic calls which may sometimes involve people losing patience with you? And how many times do I have to repeat my location man?!
I didn’t take her name down. But I want to know who she is so that this never happens again. Today, the accident was small. This country is even smaller. Tomorrow, the accident may be fatal. The country’s small size will suddenly seem too big and every single second will count.
Netizens’ comments
- All emergency calls are recorded. If what she said is true, then the responder will be punished. But if she lied, she’ll expect a call from the police soon.
- I would love to hear the conversation to know their side. Something must have happened which the caller missed out. Too one sided. I’ve called emergency and attended many times and they’ve all been professional. Calling again to clarify.
What the hell is wrong with clarifying. Caller could have talked too fast( happens because of panic) so details missed out. Call centre might also be writing or relaying info live and called again to reclarify as maybe missed it.
Her sacarsm is the one which will cost life - They will always insist for the lamppost #. That way, there won’t be communication error. it doesn’t matter how accurate you describe your location. what if he/she hear you wrongly? imagine dispatching an ambulance to the wrong place due to communication error? It will then truly cost life.
- Certainly room for improvement by all parties involved. Calling people bonehead definitely won’t help.
SCDF responds
A spokesperson for SCDF said in a statement that they are looking into the matter after being made aware of the post online.
“SCDF is aware of a social media post highlighting the manner in which one of our personnel handled a phone call clarifying the location of a road traffic accident. SCDF is looking into the matter.”