Question for Dispatchers

[SCPD]

Why is it if an officer is going to a medical or an accident, the dispatcher tells the cop, "let me know if you need anything"?

If he/she got to the scene and needed an ambulance, is the dispatcher presuming the cop will hold that back, and not ask for one?

 

[n4voxgill]

it says the dispatcher has not sent and ambulance, wrecker or anthing else, if the need additonal assistance to ask for it. Keeps the officer from wondering did or didn't they dispatch ohter units.

 

[SCPD]

Okay, but to me that makes no sense.

 

[JoeyC]

Okay, but to me that makes no sense.

Sounds like you are in favor of robots doing the dispatching instead of people.

 

[n4voxgill]

few words can say a lot. It indicates that the 911 operator did not receive any indication of persons trapped in a car, of gasoline leaking or other major problems. Of couse they could dispatch and say guess what else.

 

[SCPD]

No. But it's a waste of air time to say "let me know if you need anything". If the cop needs something he'll ask.

Or, better yet, if you sent a rig or a wrecker say so. That is a dumb question to ask.

As I said, I doubt you will ever come across a situatiuon where a cop needs a rig or whatever and says to himself, nah, i'm not going to ask.

 

[jg08857]

If it's a medical call, shouldn't the dispatcher be following the EMD cards and sending the appropriate EMS response?

 

[SCPD]

It depends on the situation. People are adding their own variables to my question. All I asked is why dispatchers feel the need to tell officers in the field "let me know if you need anything".

My premise behind the question was that if an officer, no matter what the call, needs an ambulance or a firetruck he won't request it.

The practice is not a big deal. My experience as a SO II, when this was said to me, I asked myself, why she said that, as if I'm not going to ask, if she didn't tell me to let her know.

Please, if you are not a dispatcher don't reply.

 

[robbinsj2]

Please, if you are not a dispatcher don't reply.

n4voxgill has given and followed-up to an answer, which I will whole-heartedly second. If you would like an official take-it-to-the-bank answer, perhaps you should contact APCO and/or the dispatchers you hear saying this.

For me, if there is a good dispatcher on the other end, hearing that phrase is about as telling as the voice the dispatch is delivered in -- they both speak volumes with little or no additional airtime. If there is a rookie or otherwise bad dispatcher working, they may just be mimicing what they have heard others say and their tone/pace may be skewed because they haven't settled in yet.

08857: 911 callers aren't always helpful enough to let call-takers or dispatchers make solid decisions, be they regarding EMD protocols or other. Also, not all units in the field (sometimes including EMS) will be familiar with the EMD protocols.

Jim

 

[gcr33]

Because the call for service may have been, someone has fallen and needs help getting up or just a weak and dizzy or maybe they have been out there 10 times already and the person has refused additional medical help.

Talk about a waste, running fire rescue, or taking some volunteer away from their task, family on a waste of time, running code 3 getting into a crash. It costs tax dollars to run any of this apparatus. Tax dollars are not free.

 

[JoeyC]

It wouldn't be that the dispatcher was just being polite and courteous in offering to assist the officer in any way she/he could beyond protocol wouldn't have anything to do with it, of course not...