Lazy SAPOL

[NHIGG9116]

Hey guys, do you have problems with SAPOL not calling you to car accidents or not bothering calling a tow truck to get rid of the cars???

[boredmatrix]

nah we have the complete opposite problem!

fender bender = SAAS.  Patrol will get there sometime in the next hour - ambo's can move the cars off the road and tell the punters to go to the nearest cop-shop themselves and report it!

[Alan (Big Al)]

have more problems wth saas not calling fire and rescue to car accidents than sapol..  and have now been told by local sapol we are more than welcome to call towies to come get the cars if they arent on scene, unless its a serious one then we wont do anything until they get there

[boredmatrix]

But do fireys really need to come out to clean up a bit of broken glass on the road??

This always amuses me....two different discussions on threads that relate to
A) units defaulting consistently because they don't have enough crew....

And

B) SAAS not calling fireys for prangs that don't need it.

If I was a manager I would label it efficient resource management!!


As mentioned jn another thread.....SAAS EOC aren't allowed to think.....so generally it's hit and miss(co-ordinator dependent) and only happens when the crew arrives and confirms (AKA reminds them) that fireys are required.

[Alex]

Al, blaming SAAS is not necessarily correct.
SAAS at least have a policy in there EOC where they have to notify us of all VAs [including the elderly falling off there gophers, kids off skateboards, etc] when they are the INITIAL call taking agency. If SAPol take the call then pass on to SAAS then SAAS dont necessarily notify us...

SAPol are the only ones with no internal policies... at the end of the day though the RCRD does over rule them all anyway.

[Alex]

At the end of the day this post is most likely a troll is it not? First post from a brand new forum member stirring the pot.

[rescue5271]

Its been a on going problem here in the SE for a long time SAAS are the worst wont call us for MVA and there have been a number of delays with SAAS crews coming from up 45kms away to jobs when we are closer and can provide first aid care till they arrive...I guess it wont get fixed till someone is seriously hurt or worse.SAPOL have not been too bad they do tend to call us....

[boredmatrix]

fair call. 

At least SAAS is being consistent by only being a reactive service......

...and will only fix it when they get told by the coroner!!

[pumprescue]

It is plain and simple...

The first agency to take a call for a motor vehicle accident in a country area of South Australia must notify the other agencies to ensure that Police/Ambulance/Fire/Rescue are responded no matter how small or serious the accident is reported as. This was introduced after CFS had multiple fatal accidents where if SAPOL and SAAS had responded the appropriate resources to start with the outcomes would have most certainly been better.
In the metropolitan area it is still the same, the only difference is MFS can decide on the information given too only respond Fire cover (this is based on the fact every MFS pump has RIV and rescue is not far away if required). There is only a few border CFS brigades without Rescue so with MFS rescue so close to the border the time gap is no different.

It is true this comes down to laziness on behalf of the call take and dispatcher of the first agency to take the call, follow the procedures and if the agency you notify chooses not to follow them you have covered your behind. I would hate to see the call centres in Adelaide have proper audits of their calls done, would be a lot of people getting sacked

[Alex]

Its been a on going problem here in the SE for a long time SAAS are the worst wont call us for MVA and there have been a number of delays with SAAS crews coming from up 45kms away to jobs when we are closer and can provide first aid care till they arrive...I guess it wont get fixed till someone is seriously hurt or worse.SAPOL have not been too bad they do tend to call us....

Bill, interested to know how you know whether SAAS or SAPol have passed on the notification. We only notice SAAS going without us because we can see there dispatch. Noone can see what the coppers are up to, i know for a fact that they regularly go to minor prangs without even notifyin SAAS.

[misterteddy]

It is true this comes down to laziness on behalf of the call take and dispatcher of the first agency to take the call,

Clearly, you have never sat next to a SAAS dispatcher at work, maybe before you sprout scheiße, you might like to go watch them with a screen full of higher priorities (like finding a non existent resource for your family members cardiac arrest)

It's the system's fault, not the dispatcher; you know the dispatcher.....the one person thats handling every emerg job from the CBD south to aldinga, or north to gawler. The 4 or 5 of them that handle over a 1000 jobs a day, every day. How many people in MFS comms again for the 60 or so jobs most days? Maybe we could take an underutilised firie to go be the liaison person and ensure that the fire service gets the appropriate information. Oh but I guess that would mean they wouldn't have use of the gym, or the mess....so I guess that won't happen

[rescue5271]

Alex we dont know if they have passed on the information to other services or not the only way we know when they have a MVA is scanner or paging site or the sound of them flying out of town. I know my own group and Wattle range group have been having this problem for over a year now and its not getting fixed. There was a MVA here 2 weeks ago tractor into a tree where a machine the tractor was towing rolled onto the road but SAAS did not call us where that MVA was would have taken 20mins to get there.

[Alex]

SAAS did not call us

This is my exact point Bill, and the point of this whole thread? We dont know who takes the initial call, therefore we do not know who to blame... You contradict yourself in your post, first stating you do not know who takes the initial call.

I think both SAAS and SAPol play an equal part and both need to lift there game.

[rescue5271]

For the jobs that we have not been paged to SAASl have contacted SAPOL only after the local SAAS crew arrived.