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Sick emergency call centre staff not being replaced in Victoria trial Sick emergency call centre staff not being replaced in Victoria trial
(about 2 hours later)
Sick or absent emergency call-takers at Victoria’s triple-0 centre are not being replaced under a new staffing trial. Denis Napthine says a new staffing system being trialled at Victoria’s triple zero call centres will be stopped immediately if it compromises call-taking capacity.
The firefighters union said reducing available staff at the dispatch centre was “extremely dangerous” but the government said the move has not affected services. Sick or absent emergency call takers are not being replaced at emergency dispatch centres under a trial being run by the state’s Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta).
Since July the centre operator has not been replacing up to two absent police call-takers on weeknights and weekends, two fire call-takers on night shifts and one fire call-taker on day shifts. The premier said the trial had been operating since mid-July with no reductions in service. He said any changes that compromised the call centres would be stopped.
The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (Esta), which runs the triple-0 call centres, said it was trialling the ability to make real-time decisions about absences, in consultation with staff. “If there are any changes to compromise call-taking capacity they will be short-circuited, finished, stopped immediately,” Napthine said on Tuesday.
“It makes sense not to drive up the human, or other, costs of overtime that we know are not needed,” an Esta spokeswoman said. Esta has not been replacing up to two absent police call takers on weeknights and weekends, two fire call takers on night shifts and one fire call-taking position on day shifts since the trial started.
The secretary of the United Firefighters Union, Peter Marshall, said any delay in emergency response could mean “life or death” and the claim by the premier, Denis Napthine, that services were unaffected was “grossly misleading”. Unions say the move could leave the state vulnerable in times of emergency and disaster. The United Firefighters Union secretary, Peter Marshall, said any delay in emergency response could mean “life or death”.
“He is reducing the capability of the critical component, being the caller-taker dispatch of emergency services, in lowering the staffing levels,” Marshall said. “[Dr Napthine’s] methodology of using a crystal ball being able to predict when an emergency will occur is not only fatally flawed but extremely dangerous,” Marshall said.
“His methodology of using a crystal ball being able to predict when an emergency will occur is not only fatally flawed but extremely dangerous.” The Police Association secretary, Senior Sergeant Ron Iddles, said he did not see how the call centres’ capacity could be maintained with fewer staff. “I don’t see why you would cut back staff and trial it and wait for a disaster to happen,” he said.
He said emergencies, by their nature, were unpredictable. Esta says it is testing the ability to make real-time decisions about absences in consultation with staff. “It makes sense not to drive up the human or other costs of overtime that we know are not needed,” an Esta spokeswoman said.
Napthine said the trial had been operating since mid-July with “absolutely no reductions” in service. Napthine said the same basic staffing levels were being maintained. “It’s always important to look at ways to deliver more efficient services,” he said. “We will not put community safety at risk.”
“No delays in calls being dealt with. No delays in calls being passed on to the appropriate agencies for response,” Napthine told Fairfax Radio on Tuesday.
“The full staffing complement and roster is still applied. It’s responding in a circumstance where someone is away for unforeseen circumstance.”
The opposition leader, Daniel Andrews, said emergency calls were time-critical, meaning sick staff needed to be replaced.
“Denis Napthine needs to explain how less call-takers at triple-0 makes Victorians safer,” Andrews said. “This doesn’t pass the common sense test.”