MINUTES

9-1-1 MANAGEMENT BOARD

REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF OTTAWA-CARLETON

HONEYWELL ROOM

3 OCTOBER 1997

9:30 A.M.

 

PRESENT

Chair: G. Kemp

Members: D. Brousseau, H. Kreling, H. Massender, R. Maxwell, P. Moyle

Resources: R. Erfle, 9-1-1 Bureau Manager

H. Murphy, Manager, Emergency Measures Unit, E & T Dept.

G. Cantello, Legal Department

D. Johnston, Geomatics Division, Plan. & Dev. App. Dept.

L. Jenkins, Manager, 9-1-1 Emergency Service, Bell

Ssgt. G. Nelson, Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police

 

CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES

That the 9-1-1 Management Board approve the Minutes of the meeting of 27 June 1997.

CARRIED

REGULAR ITEMS

1. PUBLIC EMERGENCY REPORTING SERVICE (PERS) UPDATE

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 22 Sep 97

L. Jenkins, Manager, 9-1-1 Emergency Service, Bell, reiterated the comments she made to the 9-1-1 Advisory Committee in September.

That the 9-1-1 Management Board receive this verbal update for information.

RECEIVED

2. CHILDREN’S AWARDS

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 22 Sep 97

Inspector Erfle indicated 20 awards were given out in 1996, with another 29 potential awards still to be given for that year. Bureau staff will meet with the individual taking over this program and report back to the Board at its next meeting on the progress of this program which recognizes children who have had to use 9-1-1 in an emergency.

D. Brousseau saw this as a tremendous opportunity for communicating to the public the proper use of 9-1-1. He agreed an update should be brought back, suggesting it would carry some of the momentum the Region has been working towards with its public awareness campaign. Staff agreed to develop a media plan for this purpose.

That the 9-1-1 Management Board receive this report for information.

RECEIVED

3. APARTMENT ENTRY SYSTEM - UPDATE

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 22 Sep 97

Inspector Erfle had not received a lot of direct feedback with respect to this system and its use in other buildings. He agreed it could be used in the planning and design of some apartment complexes, but was unaware of any further installations in other apartments. The existence of this system has been well communicated among all community police centres.

R. Maxwell questioned at what point the system at the Richmond Road apartment is ruled a success and no longer working on a trial basis. Staff Sergeant Nelson advised the police are confident this experiment has been successful and owners of new buildings may want to install it. The police do not intend to mass-market this system. P. Moyle suggested the existing system be investigated to ensure it is still in operation and discuss with the building owner whether there have been any problems.*

Questions arose on the appropriateness of this system in other apartment entry’s and the Inspector confirmed the building must have the appropriate alarm system in order to install this service to call 9-1-1. After a brief discussion, the Board acknowledged the existing system is permanent and the criteria for such has been established and set out in the agreement between the police and the building owner. If the system is abused, the agreement can be terminated. If other building owners were interested in installing this system, they would be held to the same kind of agreement.

It was questioned whether this system will be made known to owners of new and existing buildings. L. Jenkins indicated it exists because there is a business line required to phone 9-1-1 and unless the building has a specific type of internal phone system, this would simply be an upgrade. She suggested this system will probably only be seen in new buildings or in those where there is a problem and the owner is willing to spend the money to install it. It was questioned whether the agreement stipulate that if the service address does not appear on the 9-1-1 operator’s screen that they will not be able to get that entry system feature. L. Jenkins indicated the service address will come up on the screen and agreed to check into this for the Board if requested. The Board agreed it should be a condition of future agreements. L. Jenkins indicated she would follow up with the manager of the building and check the data base.**

That the 9-1-1 Management Board receive this verbal update for information.

RECEIVED

* Ssgt. Nelson later confirmed with the Co-ordinator that the system at the apartment building on Richmond Road is still functional and no problems have occurred.

** L. Jenkins verified the data base does reflect the correct business address for the Richmond Heights Apartments.

4. BUREAU MANAGER’S REPORT

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Management Board report dated 22 Sep 97

There was a large volume of calls during the summer which resulted in a slight decline in the average efficiency ratio. Inspector Erfle explained that two weeks have lapsed since the launch of the public awareness campaign and Bureau staff will evaluate what the impact has been. Ssgt. Nelson referred to the Draft Minutes of the 9-1-1 Advisory Committee in which they were informed of the decrease in the average number of calls to 9-1-1 following media coverage of its mis-use.

That the 9-1-1 Management Board receive this report for information.

RECEIVED

5. 9-1-1 ADVISORY COMMITTEE DRAFT MINUTES

- Co-ordinator, 9-1-1 Advisory Committee report dated 22 Sep 97

That the 9-1-1 Management Board receive the draft Minutes of the 9-1-1 Advisory Committee of 19 September 1997 for information.

RECEIVED

 

OTHER BUSINESS

Communication Initiatives Following 9-1-1 Campaign

D. Brousseau advised staff would bring back a report on the success of the campaign. He noted one television station had not accepted the message as a public service announcement so staff are looking at different ways of coming up with the money for the spots.

L. Jenkins made reference to Bell’s Ambassador Program and their work with Regional staff. To this end, a letter has been sent from the Region to area school boards, with excellent feedback. Bell will send the activity books to the Region for distribution, hopefully in October, with the program commencing in November.

Long Term Care Facilities - Response

H. Massender raised a concern she had with respect to the reluctance of long term care facilities in Ottawa-Carleton to call 9-1-1 in an emergency. There have been countless incidents where they dial the 7-digit number for an ambulance, resulting in a delayed response because the address and patient information must be manually entered into the data base rather than if was received directly from the Bureau if the call was made to 9-1-1. She presumed 9-1-1 is not used because staff at those facilities may have been instructed to not resuscitate some elderly patients. She believed they were also concerned about tiered response and that dispatching a fire truck was an inefficient use of those services. She has instructed her staff to tell the caller they should use 9-1-1 in an emergency situation, but questioned whether there was something the Board could do to ensure they do that.

Discussion arose on whether this is an issue for the Board to pursue, or more appropriately a health issue; it was acknowledged this is a moral dilemma more than anything else and that these facilities may have internal policies of which the Board is not aware. H. Massender indicated Dr. Justin Maloney will be meeting with representatives of these facilities to discuss this issue, but was seeking some input from the Board prior to that date.

Councillor Kreling opined that if some or all long term care facilities are using the 7-digit number instead of 9-1-1, it is probably a practice put in place for a specific purpose. If this causes a problem on the service side, he thought this best discussed at the meeting H. Massender referred to where more information can be obtained and her concerns can be made known. H. Massender agreed, but questioned whether the Region should send a letter to all long term care facilities in Ottawa-Carleton instructing them to use 9-1-1 in any type of emergency. Chair Kemp recognized the Board cannot insist they call 9-1-1 and indicated part of the problem is education and whether or not they realize there is a delay by refusing to call 9-1-1. In order for them to understand how their actions affect the administration and response time of the ambulance service, he suggested H. Massender send a letter explaining how that service operates and to clarify there would still be a tiered response if it meets the criteria. He suggested they reaffirm the fact that 9-1-1 is there for medical emergencies as outlined in its initial set up criteria.

Councillor Kreling believed it would be difficult to explain this in a letter and suggested personal contact might be the best avenue to communicate those concerns. He suggested explaining to them how the system works with the 7-digit number, which might make them understand the situation better.

On behalf of the Board, Chair Kemp advised they can be told the Board agrees why they should be encouraged to use 9-1-1 for medical emergencies. He suggested this item be included on the next meeting agenda to determine if the issue has been resolved through the medical profession.

Response to Letter re 9-1-1 Response

The Board questioned the status of action taken in response to a letter from a citizen complaining about the apparent lack of response he received following a call to 9-1-1. A copy of his letter to the Regional Chair was sent under memorandum from the Chair to the Chief of Police and the 9-1-1 Management Board. Inspector Erfle advised the letter was immediately responded to and outlined the steps taken by the police to respond to the call. The Board suggested a copy of the letter be sent to the Regional Chair and the Management Board for information and closure on this matter.

National Emergency Number Association (NENA) - Public Service Announcement

Chair Kemp made reference to the public service announcement (PSA) prepared by NENA and its debut at the annual conference. The PSA addresses the issue of knowing when to call 9-1-1. He suggested Environment and Transportation Department staff obtain a copy and determine if there is anything beneficial the Region might learn from it. D. Brousseau agreed to follow up.

9-1-1 Management Board - Membership

Chair Kemp advised that with the close of the term of Council, a new 9-1-1 Management Board will be struck early in December. The public representative, R. Maxwell, expressed an interest in serving a second term, as is permitted under the Board’s Terms of Reference.

 

Moved by H. Kreling

That the 9-1-1 Management Board recommend the re-appointment of Ross Maxwell as the public representative on the Board for the next three-year term.

CARRIED

Further to the above, the Board Chair asked that emergency member agencies nominate their respective representative on the Board and advise the Co-ordinator accordingly.

 

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 10:35 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

____________________ ____________________

CO-ORDINATOR CHAIR