Dateline DC has learned of another very concerning problem at the DC 911 center. Serious staffing issues within the dispatch center have led to police and fire/ems shifts, that are normally staffed with 6 to 25 or more members respectively, being reduced to operating at times with as few as 
three employees at times on the ems side. This causes emergency dispatchers, who are supposed to monitor units on one particular channel, to patch and monitor two radio channels at the same time. It has been proven that staffing shortages can cause serious delays in service to citizens and put emergency units operating in the field in danger due to the possibility of missed and or delayed radio transmissions due to dispatchers having to monitor and work more then one channel at a time… Read more…
Filed under: Public Service
Dateline: Washington, D.C. 