Vic: Emergency phone service needs improvement Opposition

AAP General News (Australia)
12-15-2000
Vic: Emergency phone service needs improvement Opposition

MELBOURNE, Dec 15 AAP - Lives were at risk because necessary improvements were not
being made to Victoria's emergency 000 telephone service, the state opposition said today.

Opposition health spokesman Robert Doyle said documents showed the Metropolitan Ambulance
Service (MAS) admitted there were problems with the system, but could not act until the
Ambulance Royal Commission handed down its report in April next year.

Mr Doyle said concerns about the system were first raised at a meeting of emergency
services and Telstra in January, but no improvements had been made.

He said people in critical situations were being forced to wait on hold for too long.

He quoted one case where a nurse, who witnessed an armed hold-up, tried to call 000
but was placed on hold for almost four minutes before she hung up.

"Documents that I've obtained show clearly that improvements to 000 are on hold," Mr Doyle said.

He said "it was just not good enough" that the MAS did not believe it could make any
improvements to its handling of 000 calls until the royal commission report was handed
down in April next year.

"We are talking about people's lives at risk, anything that we can do to improve that
system must be done immediately," Mr Doyle said, urging Premier Steve Bracks to take action.

Documents from a teleconference meeting convened by Telstra on December 7, 2000, showed
all emergency services - including the Country Fire Authority and police - did not believe
the 000 system was working properly.

The Ambulance Royal Commission is currently looking at the issue of 000 emergency numbers.

AAP cmc/imc/mjm/br

KEYWORD: CALLS

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