EMS union concerned 911 response times could rise

Ambulances parked at Cambridge Memorial Hospital.

The union for EMS dispatchers says starting Monday, a 911 call for an ambulance may have a slower response time than normal in Waterloo Region, Wellington County and Dufferin County.

The dispatchers working in Cambridge are being moved to Hamilton.

The union representing them says this is a major concern for both locations.

“[The centre] was not made to handle more regions other than Hamilton,” says Lucy Morton, regional VP at Ontario Public Service Employees Union.

According to a memo sent to the Cambridge dispatchers, special technology to locate callers in distress won’t be ready at the Hamilton location for up to two months.

Morton says if a 911 caller hangs up or collapses and is no longer connected; it will be more difficult to locate them without the special technology.

“Potentially worst case scenario this could cause an unneeded death,” she says.

The Cambridge dispatch centre is one of 22 communications centres run by the province.

Waterloo Region officials are aware of the re-location and say they’ve been asking to take over the dispatch system for years.

“We know we can save at least a minute. 60 to 90 seconds per ambulance call if we were doing the dispatch,” says Regional Councilor Tom Galloway.

Police and fire dispatchers will soon operate under one system in Waterloo Region.

EMS dispatchers say they want to be included in that system as well, and be run by the region instead of the province.

“Emergency services are emergency services and you require something you don’t need a timelapse of even seconds,” says Morton.

The province says the move to Hamilton is temporary and there will be no impact to 911 calls for ambulance service.

With reporting from Nicole Lampa