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Responding to Calls
Call Taker Questions
The questions 911 call takers are trained to ask are not to delay response of necessary responders but to enhance the responders’ needs and to protect the caller or any nearby citizens. The answers that are provided are relayed to all of the responders who are en route.
Providing Vital Information to the Responder
This relay of information provides the responder with vital information about the:
This information also helps the responders determine whether there is a need for lights and siren or if they can respond with the flow of traffic. The days when every responder went to every call with lights and siren are over. There are too many other lives that can be affected on the way to the call.
Emergency vehicles are now more accountable than ever before regarding the use of lights and siren. There are many civil lawsuits that involve emergency vehicles involved in serious or fatal accidents.
These persons and companies are held accountable for their actions and must justify their responses. The caller’s answers to these questions help ensure the right unit is dispatched, the right number of units are sent, in the right mode of response.
Prioritizing Emergency Assistance
The EMS system as a whole also is utilized more than ever before. Often, there are more calls to dispatch than there are responders to send. The information obtained through careful interrogation of the caller allows the dispatcher to correctly prioritize the calls and send the units to the calls needing the quickest assistance.
Without the information, the calls would line up and be dispatched in the order they were received. The use of properly trained emergency medical dispatchers can positively influence all aspects of EMS response.
The questions 911 call takers are trained to ask are not to delay response of necessary responders but to enhance the responders’ needs and to protect the caller or any nearby citizens. The answers that are provided are relayed to all of the responders who are en route.
Providing Vital Information to the Responder
This relay of information provides the responder with vital information about the:
- Call itself
- Nature of the problem
- People it is affecting
- Severity of the situation
- Protection of the responder and anyone nearby
This information also helps the responders determine whether there is a need for lights and siren or if they can respond with the flow of traffic. The days when every responder went to every call with lights and siren are over. There are too many other lives that can be affected on the way to the call.
Emergency vehicles are now more accountable than ever before regarding the use of lights and siren. There are many civil lawsuits that involve emergency vehicles involved in serious or fatal accidents.
These persons and companies are held accountable for their actions and must justify their responses. The caller’s answers to these questions help ensure the right unit is dispatched, the right number of units are sent, in the right mode of response.
Prioritizing Emergency Assistance
The EMS system as a whole also is utilized more than ever before. Often, there are more calls to dispatch than there are responders to send. The information obtained through careful interrogation of the caller allows the dispatcher to correctly prioritize the calls and send the units to the calls needing the quickest assistance.
Without the information, the calls would line up and be dispatched in the order they were received. The use of properly trained emergency medical dispatchers can positively influence all aspects of EMS response.