This is why unions should be outlawed in public safety

[hatelilpeepees]

http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/audit-atlanta-fire-medical-1209970.html

They will spin this as "understaffed", but the truth is the union verbally ordered the firefighters to "slow down" as a result of cutbacks to prove their point. I don't think the 911 Center is unionized, but they got the same message.

[paramedicmike]

That's a pretty heavy accusation. Got any proof?

Why would the dispatchers, who aren't held responsible to the FF union (IAFF?), deliberately slow down their processing of 911 calls? How would that benefit them?

How would the FF union exert any pressure on the dispatchers to get them to slow their processing of calls?

I realize you're there and might be privy to information not discussed in the article. However, to level the accusation that the FF union is deliberately slowing responses and acting to slow dispatch processing of calls points to a conspiracy that, on the surface, is pretty hard to believe.

[akflightmedic]

Did you even read the article?

Apparently calls for EMS are sent to Grady Hospital for dispatching, so there is no tracking of emergency calls once that happens.When Grady has a serious call, they then transfer the call back to the FD for dispatching of a first responder/fire rescue response.

This seems extremely backwards to me and properly served a legitimate purpose years ago and the process has yet to change.

[hatelilpeepees]

9 of them work my company part-time.

[Kaisu]

I don't think this has anything to do with unions and the article has a tenuous connection if any to the title of this post. The fact that 911 calls are routed to the hospital and then to 1st response seems upside down. This "Bizarro World" that you appear to work in explains a lot in terms of the outlandish ideas and thinking that has appeared in your posts. Do yourself a favor and get to a place in the country where things are run a little more rationally. I think it would help develop you as a professional.

[akflightmedic]

Must be fact then. I stand corrected, was not aware you had so much hearsay at your disposal.

(tongue in cheek sarcasm for those who are sarcasm-illiterate)

[paramedicmike]

Nine of who? FF unions? Your area has nine FF unions?

Or do you mean you have nine FFs who work for you? And they are the proof? Sounds like hearsay to me.

AK touched on an important part of that, too, with the calls being routed to Grady not being tracked. Sounds an awful lot like an organizational problem rather than the union putting pressure to slow dispatches.

ETA: AK and I posted at pretty much the same time.

Edited October 30, 2011 by paramedicmike

[HERBIE1]

OK I'm confused. Why are the calls routed to Grady Hospital first? Which calls are routed there- only the medical calls? Is this some sort of triage system to weed out the BS? Who answers the calls at the Hospital- RN's MD's, medics, or civilians? Do they dispatch any assets directly from there or does everything come out of the 911 center? Who handles the EMS response- Atlanta Fire, a private, or both?

Seems like a wildly inefficient system to me, or am I missing something here?

[hatelilpeepees]

Its been done the same for years, times only increased when the union got stuck with furlough days. Calls are routed to grady first because they have a triage system that allows them to schedule the patient for a clinic visit for minor ailments instead of going to ER.

[Asysin2leads]

Gee, a corporate administrator saying how unions should be outlawed. There's a shocker. It must be a real a pain in the ass when you have to answer to a union when you just want to go ahead and fire someone because they refused to comply with your illegal act.