Dad’s horror experience puts spotlight on triple-0 operators

A Melbourne father was forced to endure two minutes of horror after triple-zero operators placed him on hold as his baby choked.

Paramedics are calling for more triple-zero operators. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Paramedics are calling for more triple-zero operators after a Melbourne father who feared for his choking baby’s life was put on hold for more than two minutes.

The dad told the Herald Sun he thought he would lose six-month old Ali as he waited for triple-0 to connect him to the ambulance.

“I thought they’re not going to answer, I thought nobody would come,” he said.

“I thought I would lose him.”

The distraught dad said his son turned blue — though it’s understood this wasn’t reported to emergency operators as the chaos unfolded — as he ran to his neighbours for help.

In a “miracle”, the neighbours cleared Ali’s airway before paramedics arrived, within the code one target of 15 minutes.

His father said Ali, who did not need to be taken to hospital, had a chest infection and appeared to have choked on phlegm and vomit.

He praised the paramedics and call-taker, but said more staff were needed.

Victorian Ambulance Union Secretary Danny Hill said his members have been calling on the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority to hire more staff “for ages”.

“We’ve heard of delays of up to 10 minutes, even one case of up to 16 minutes,” he said.

“ESTA need to wake up and realise they need to staff their operations enough to deal with the workload.

He said it would have been unacceptable for the family to be on hold for even 60 seconds, and a delay of a few minutes could cost someone life saving advice from the “fantastic” operators.

ESTA apologised to the family for the delay in answering their call, which chief executive Marty Smyth said was two minutes and 16 seconds.

“We are always distressed if any callers have to wait for help,” he said.

“This is amplified if our most vulnerable people, like babies, are involved.”

A spokesman said they are hiring 43 new full-time equivalent call-taking, dispatch and mental health support roles in 2021-22, offering overtime shifts to all employees and recalling seconded employees.

Ambulance Victoria acting metro regional director Jerome Peyton said they sent two ambulances “without delay”, with the first one arriving in 12 minutes.

“While there was no delay in the ambulance response, we can only imagine how the parents must have felt,” he said.

“He was assessed by paramedics with no clinical problem identified and left in the care of his parents.

“We are working closely with ESTA to ensure everything is being done to connect us with our patients in the quickest possible time.”