Allegheny County (Penn.) officials say a dispatcher’s typing mistake sent EMS units to the wrong street, creating a seven-minute delay that ended with a three week-old baby dead. The county medical examiner is investigating the cause of death, and says it’s not clear if a prompt response could have saved the child, who died about an hour after arriving at the hospital. The unnamed dispatcher has been put on administrative leave. According to county Emergency Services chief Bob Full, the dispatcher properly entered the 911 caller’s address on Crucible Street into the county’s Tiburon CAD software, and pressed the key to verified the address. Full said the dispatcher then returned to the address field to enter an apartment number. However, instead of entering the “pound symbol” (#), the dispatcher entered an “at symbol” (@). For some reason, that revision changed the street name to “Crane Avenue.” The dispatcher did not notice the change, and EMS units were sent to the wrong location. Upon arriving, the mistake was discovered and EMS units were redirected to the correct address. Full pointed out that the dispatcher did stay on the phone with the mother and gave her CPR instructions. Read more about the incident here.
3 comments… add one
No matter how many certifications or training you get, we are all human prone to mistakes. No one is perfect and unfortunately mistakes are going to happen. People forget that no matter what the “human” factor is always there the best we can hope for is that the mistake is not critical and that we learn by the first one.
I feel terrible for the family and the Dispatcher. I unfortunately know how the family feels as I have lost a son also. However, that Dispatcher/Telecommunicator will also have to live with that HUMAN mistake for the rest of her life. I hope that agency has employee assistance.
God Bless all involved and may He give you his strength and peace at this sad time.
It is true, we are all human. And under the constant stress and duress which these jobs can bring, mistakes are sometimes made.
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