More concern over emergency number
It was last week when I reported to readers of the vandalism to a footbridge nhere at Oxley on the Staffs & Worcester Canal (NbW—Emergency Communication and CaRT) and I felt that a follow-up was necessary, writes Orph Mable.
Although there are some positive results of the reported event, there are others that may give some concern to users of the Canal & River Trust Emergency Telephone service.
Less than reassuring
It was after a less than reassuring call to the CaRT ‘Emergency Telephone Number' to report a very dangerous ‘excavation' in the footbridge on the evening of Friday 9th June, that I took it upon myself to effect a temporary repair. This repair was adequate to survive the weekend, as we were fortunate to have unusually good, dry weather.
Thankfully, Terry Hodgetts (CaRT Customer Service Supervisor) arrived on site mid-morning Monday to investigate the vandalism. After a check on the bridge, he came across and re-assured me that a more permanent and effective repair would be carried out no later than the following morning.
Effective repair
As good as his word, a two man team arrived just after lunch on Monday and the hole was cleared of my in-fill and refilled with fast setting concrete. Whilst the repair is not pretty, it is effective and has made the footbridge safe for pedestrians as can be seen in the picture. Full marks for Terry and the CaRT bankside staff.
I took the opportunity while talking to Terry, to ask when he had been notified of the dangerous bridge. Now it seems that Terry was the ‘on-call' supervisor for our area over Friday evening and all weekend, but the information did not result from the ‘Emergency Call' system but from reading my article on the Monday morning!
Concerned
The article was not only published in narrowboatworld, but I had also forwarded it to CaRT Trustee John Dodwell on the Saturday morning, being concerned that the bank staff had not been informed of the problem.
I was pleased to receive a ‘phone call from John Dodwell himself during the week and was able to confirm to him that the repair had been carried out and to talk about the ‘Emergency' call that I had made. John assured me that he was following it up vigorously and would get back to me with details of his discoveries. Today, Saturday 15th June, John got back to me, as promised, with the results of his ‘investigations'.
Utilises call centres
It has been reported before that the CaRT Emergency Telephone service is actually operated on behalf of the Trust by The West Midland Ambulance Service and utilises its call-centres and operators. This service is paid for by the Trust.
Call-centre records do confirm that there had been one missed call at the time followed by another that was answered. Readers may recall that I actually experienced two ‘dropped calls' after a period of waiting ‘on hold' before being answered. Ho hum! Also the call-centre was experiencing a very busy period, which contributed to the delay in answering. John pointed out to me that for more call-centre staff to be available to the Trust, more cost would be involved. The Trust considered it more effective to spend the available funds on waterway maintenance.
Not up to standard
The call-centre supervisors had replayed the recording of my call (all Emergency calls are recorded) and confirmed to John that the operator response was 'not up to standard' and that particular operator had now been sent for further training. However they point out that the computer system used by call-centre operators to identify waterway locations only identified Bridge names for the Staffs & Worcs. Canal, but numbers for both the Shropshire Union and Worcester & Birmingham canals are identified by Bridge Numbers! (Confusion reigns - and we all get wet!). John assured me this aspect of the software was being reviewed.
I am afraid that I forgot to pursue the matter of the information failing to be passed through to the CaRT on-call supervisor, and John didn't refer to it. This, despite being assured by the operator at the time, those details would be passed on to CaRT. I can only blame myself for this memory failure.
Should be tested
In both telephone chats that I had with John Dodwell, the subject of testing the ‘Emergency Telephone System' was discussed. My view was that it is generally accepted that all types of emergency systems and procedures should be tested at regular intervals to ensure that they are fit for purpose. John did not tell me what testing of the service was carried out or how often.
I detailed a system of ‘Mystery Shopper' calls that are made to call-centres to test the quality of the response and functionality of the system. I suggested that CaRT supervisors set up a programme of calls to the ‘Emergency Telephone Service' with ‘test scenarios' on various sites, having given prior warning to the on-call supervisor that he should expect such a call and to treat it as a test. These ‘Mystery Shopper' calls would be irregular but take place perhaps three or four times a year.
This suggestion was received and considered by the Trust John assured me, but the view was that this is an ‘Emergency Service' and they didn't want to compromise it with ‘test' calls. I find it difficult to understand how CaRT management can be satisfied that this service is, and will continue to be, fit for purpose without any form of regular testing!
My final thoughts on this matter can easily be summarised:
When reporting ‘emergencies':
- Ensure that both Bridge Numbers and Bridge Names are passed on (if known).
- If you call drops-out before being answered, don't despair—try again (and again).
- If you know the CaRT supervisor for the area concerned call him/her direct to ensure that the information is passed correctly.
I Hope that CaRT does take up some form of routinely testing the ‘Emergency' systems.
I would like to pass on my thanks to John Dodwell for his help in this matter and the information that he has been kind enough to share openly with me. Also thanks to Terry Hodgetts and his team who reacted promptly once they received notice of the problem with the footbridge.