Emergency call takers sharpen their first aid skills. The call takers, employed by the City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre, are required to update their first aid certification every 3 years. This is but one of the many training interventions designed to ‘help them help you’ in an emergency.
Emergency Communication Centre
The City’s Public Emergency Communication Centre has 67 emergency call takers who work on a shift system. The centre offers a 24-hour service for all life-and/or property-threatening incidents.
READ MORE: Public Emergency Communication Centre
In January 2023, the PECC logged 19 743 incidents for assistance. Of these, 7 552 (38,25%) were medical.
The latest group of 11 call takers recently attended a two-week first-aid course.
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The courses cover first aid Level one, which is how to perform basic essential life support and first aid procedures.
Staff sharpen first aid skills, different courses
Level two is the provision of risk-based primary emergency care/first aid in the workplace, and Level three allows them to provide first aid as an advanced first responder, until the arrival of more professional emergency personnel.
‘Our call takers interact with the public when they’re in a state of panic or distress, so they must be able to provide guidance and calm until responders can get to the scene. For this reason, we facilitate ongoing training for our call takers in a number of areas, including conflict and stress management, interpersonal skills, communication and first aid.
‘Our call takers are not medically trained. They are, legally, not allowed to dispense medical advice. However, completion of the various first aid level courses ensures that they have the appropriate knowledge required to ask the right questions of callers in cases of medical emergencies and in so doing, they can hand over crucial and relevant information to the responders on the ground,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Apart from first aid training, the call takers are also equipped with various soft skills to complement their technical skills relevant to their roles.
Emergency staff and their first aid skills
These include effective communication, conflict management training, customer-centricity training and facilitation skills.
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There are also stress management skills and various leadership development programmes.
Public Emergency Communication Centre
We serve as a single point of entry to all City of Cape Town safety and security services. By simply dialling 021 480 7700 from a cellphone or 107 from a landline, all residents and visitors to the city will have access to emergency services and be able to report all life and/or property-threatening emergencies. Your service requests will be distributed to the relevant emergency service providers including fire and rescue, police, traffic service or ambulance.
THIS ARTICLE WAS COMPILED BY THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN’S MEDIA TEAM
