Voicing assistance: St John’s Dawn Montagne takes 111 calls at the Southern Communications Centre.PATIENCE OF A SAINT
© Marlborough Express 19/3/2008
Dawn Montagne’s computer blips: a 111 call has come in.
“Ambulance, what is your address?”
A shaky young female voice on the other end names an Ashburton store. A customer is having trouble breathing, thinks she’s having an allergic reaction to medication.
Dawn quickly locates the address of the store, then asks the girl to explain what’s happened. Within a minute, the little icon on Dawn’s screen that is an Ashburton St John ambulance turns red and starts heading from the ambulance base to the shop. Less than 10 minutes later, Dawn’s screen shows it’s there.
Another call.
“Ambulance, what is your address?”
“I’ve got a nine-year-old boy here, we think he’s broken his wrist and …”
“Ma’am, what is your address please?”
Address? But what about the injury, the thing that hurts? A panicky caller may not realise it, but for an ambulance crew the details of where to go are initially more important than the injury itself.
Children, Dawn says are the best callers; “They are calm and don’t realise the enormity of the situation”.
Dawn calmly interrupts the woman to ascertain where she is. Invercargill. Dawn types in the street name, checks the suburb with the woman and makes sure she’s got it right by checking nearby cross streets.
To the caller, it may feel like it’s taking forever, but for Dawn, this is vital information.
Once the ambulance has been dispatched, Dawn has more questions. Is the child breathing properly? Is he changing colour, is there any blood, can he talk properly?
The questions pop up on Dawn’s screen and although it’s obvious the child is breathing – the screams can be heard in the background – Dawn is required to ask them. She will be audited on the call but, above all, such information can be vital for the ambulance crew to reach their patient.
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