Delays of more than a minute for emergency calls to be answered, well above the five-second target
Whistleblower triple-0 call-takers have warned the service is at breaking point, with as few as four people rostered on at times to cover the entire state.
Victoria
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Triple-0 whistleblowers in Victoria say the embattled service remains chronically understaffed, with as few as four people rostered on at times to cover the entire state.
Leaked internal records expose critical delays of more than a minute for emergency calls to be answered, well above the five-second target.
A screenshot of an internal databoard released to the Herald Sun shows that just before 5pm on Monday, 11 Victorians had been waiting up to one minute and seven seconds for their police, fire and ambulance emergency calls to be answered.
Whistleblower call-takers have warned that the rebranded service – now called triple-0 Victoria, formerly ESTA (Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority) – is at breaking point, with Victorians routinely facing life-threatening delays.
Call-takers, who have launched industrial action amid a protracted dispute over a new pay deal, say the waits exposed on the databoard are common.
“This isn’t unusual – on most if not all shifts, we look up to this screen and see that number in red,” one said.
“That big red number represents actual people waiting for assistance in what could very well be a life-threatening situation,” they said.
“We need safe staffing levels … not only for the wellbeing of the staff but more importantly so the public of Victoria have their calls answered quickly in times of need.
“No call should wait, ideally. Is this possible? Not always, there will always be spikes with big events, that numerous people call for help at once, there will be peak times, like a Friday and Saturday night.
“However what you see here isn’t unusual, it’s a regular occurrence, and this is a weekday day shift, so we are well stocked compared to other days and nights because casuals and part-timers are in.”
But on Wednesday, Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas denied any issues with triple-0 and said that every call had been met within the clinically recommended benchmarks.
She stressed the inaccuracy of the screenshot of the internal data board.
“There are there are many elements of that story that are not correct,” Minister Thomas said.
“What is important to understand is that on that day in question, all calls to triple zero were met within their recommended timeframes,” she said.
“98.5 per cent of calls on that day were answered within 30 seconds and the benchmark was 90 per cent.
“For Ambulance Victoria the benchmark is much higher, and that is that 90 per cent of calls are answered within five seconds. And that benchmark has been met every day since August 2022.
“This follows on of course, from a $360m injection of funds into triple zero.
Ms Thomas stressed that an additional 400 call-takers had been employed as a result of the $360m investment.
She denied to elaborate any further and said enterprise bargaining negotiations are underway and does not “propose to say anything that might prejudice those negotiations.”
“We are very pleased with the way in which Triple Zero is delivering IT services,” she said.
Minister Thomas also said only four call-takers rostered on at a time was inaccurate and said the screenshot “clearly identifies that there are 26 call takers available at that time.”
However, she denied to comment on how many call-takers would potentially be rostered on at one time.
In relation to calls answered by police call-takers she said “90 per cent of all calls to police are answered within 30 seconds.”
“On that day, I can tell you that 98.5 per cent of all calls to police were met in 30 seconds,” she said.
“Triple Zero Victoria is doing a great job responding to the emergency calls of all Victorians.
“I have a vested interest in ensuring that triple zero is serving the people of Victoria well, and I’m confident it is doing so.”
Call-takers and dispatchers have launched industrial action for better staffing levels, improvements to training and better leave provisions.
They also want an increase to the base rate for trainee call-takers, which is currently only $48,000 per year.
A Triple Zero Victoria spokesman rejected any suggestion the service was understaffed, stating: “The safety of Victorians remains our highest priority.
“Call-taker numbers were above minimum staffing levels for the shift in question and performance standards were met across all services on the day. This includes police call- taking with 95.8 per cent of emergency calls answered within 30 seconds.
“Since October 2021, Triple Zero Victoria has increased its frontline workforce by more than 25 per cent.”
Shadow Minister for Health Georgie Crozier said the delays were unacceptable.
“Under Labor, too many Victorians continue to suffer while waiting for an ambulance that isn’t available, or never arrives,” she said.
“The crisis within Victoria’s health system and ambulance services has been years in the making, but it appears the same under-investment and lack of staffing continues to plague the system.”
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Richard Riordan said the rebranding had done little to improve response times.
“A new logo and name won’t fix the systemic problems with the emergency call centre under the Allan government,” he said.
Latest data shows the agency repeatedly took too long to dispatch ambulances last financial year, failing its target every month despite a major boost to call-answering times.
The service took more than two minutes and 30 secs to dispatch an ambulance to one in five urgent calls, yet call-takers answered more than 90 per cent of ambulance calls within five seconds.
High numbers of inexperienced staff and ambulance availability were blamed.
An independent review into the agency released 15 months ago found 33 Victorians potentially died after triple-0 and ambulance delays.
A government spokeswoman said more than $360m had been invested to reform and strengthen Triple Zero Victoria.
Originally published as Delays of more than a minute for emergency calls to be answered, well above the five-second target
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