Call to SFU security may have delayed paramedics
An Oct. 17 emergency call to Simon Fraser University campus security rather than 911 for a cardiac arrest appears to have added six minutes to paramedics’ response time.
The first call from the scene of the emergency on Burnaby Mountain was made at 7:24 p.m. to campus security, in keeping with instructions on SFU’s emergency information web pages.
Campus security officers called 911 for assistance while they were en route to the patient, at 7:30 p.m.
Six campus security officers went to the scene where they did CPR and used a defibrillator.
The first of two B.C. Ambulance paramedic crews arrived eight minutes later at 7:38. Official sources weren’t able to confirm media reports that the patient died.
In cardiac arrest, the heart cannot pump blood to the brain, lungs and other organs. B.C. Emergency Health Services, which operates the ambulance service, would not disclose the condition of the patient, citing privacy laws. For its part, the university said in state- ment that anyone witnessing an emergency should call both campus public safety and 911. SFU security officers with first aid training are available on the Burnaby Mountain and Surrey campuses at all times.
But SFU’s emergency health services web page says callers should dial campus security in a health emergency.
After The Sun contacted SFU vice-provost Tim Rahilly, the university’s 24/7 emergency contacts page was rewritten Thursday to add 911 to the numbers provided in the event of an emergency, along with instructions to call both campus security and 911.
B.C. Emergency Health Services wants people to call 911 “for all emergency care,” said spokeswoman Shannon Miller. “Calling 911 generates the fastest paramedic response.”
“Our call-takers are trained to provide life-saving, step-by-step instructions on how to care for a patient until emergency responders arrive on scene,” she said. “This includes both hands-on CPR and use of (a defibrillator).”
Because of the relative isolation of the Burnaby campus, SFU tries to ensure that help is close at hand, said Rahilly.
“Campus security can get places faster because they are in range when incidents occur,” he said. “We don’t see that as detracting from 911. We try to make clear to our students, staff and faculty that we have campus security available and that they are nearby, but (they) can also call 911,” he said. “I think people are generally aware of 911 emergency services whether they are at home or SFU or a shopping mall.”
The ambulance service has its own procedures for working with campus security when they receive an emergency call from SFU.
To ensure the fastest response to SFU’s Burnaby campus, a second dispatcher contacts SFU security even as the first dispatcher is taking the 911 call from campus. The second dispatcher works with security to arrange a location for paramedics to meet security officers, who then lead them to the patient.