The following website may be of interest:

http://www.theage.com.au/environment/water-issues/police-union-defends-triple0-operator-20110420-1doe4.html

In the floods at the start of the year my partner got separated from us. She has Cystic Fibrosis and has had a double lung transplant. Her drugs are keeping her alive and by being separated she obviously didn't have access to her anti-rejection drugs. After trying everything to get back she eventually called the emergency services as a last resort.

IT took them 12 hours of trying EVERY way they could to get to her and finally they did, through flood damaged devastation and storms.

My brother is also a paramedic. They are heroes.

Sure there's individual incidences of failure. The amount of work these people do and IMMENSE pressure they are under they deserve medals every day.

Dear StG,

I'm so glad that your partner made it back safely. Bless the rescuers, (and you and your family). To me - you sound like a
hero as well.

Take care,

StG Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.
My story is not about Ambulance drivers Paramedics Police, it is not about my ex team mates in road rescue or any first response people.
I have spoken about the days I monitored radios, even in my bed 24/7
It was my job to ring my supervisor, rush to my car fitted illegal with RTA radio.
Call him from site and tell him EVERY THING needed to fix it, pick up the dead help the dieing /hurt spoken too about the trauma, police who broke down, had to give up work.
My road crews leaving work unable to live with the nigh mares, not in anyway not a war zone.
12 dead in 3 events in two weeks.
Even then,even if you had rang that call center 30/40/100 times you had to beg for help.
As you waited alone for next response and a truck or car crashed in to the already wrecked scene.
Call centers did not want to know, even hung up saying we already have that Sir.
Given the task 6 ham radio operators could do their job better.
Its a job call centers, only that, rules are barbed wire fences blood fear death and trauma needs our best efforts.
StG know this, at every dreadful event ,and I saw 73 dead body's,such as your family arrived while off duty within the first ten minutes and even the gentleman one minute from the Hospital saw a male Nurse take over from me in 4 minutes, he took the phone too and said the same rude words I did,useless B,s.
Jewerly, the next year same lady,late in event called for Bananas, stores truck beat me, gave her a spelling lesson.
No F in Bananas lady was his reply.

Again,
the symptoms of the response mentality are in-line with most other symptoms involving incompetence & gross neglect of decency.
We have, over the past few decades, bred a people with the mentality & moral of a hungry mongrel. It will become a lot worse if we don't introduce steps to stop this slide into utter hopelessness. A colleague was threatened with having her face smashed in with a stubby bottle whilst she was on the phone to the Police asking for assistance only to be told by the response officer that he couldn't justify the overtime for an officer to attend, 1km from the Police station. That was ten years ago, I dread to think what response she'd get now ? Probably the same as that poor mother & son in the Qld Floods recently. Why is this attitude so prevalent ? No-one demands any kind of discipline unless of course it affects them directly, then they scream discrimination. Mention National Service & they scream dictatorship. We need to work on finding a solution to reduce this incidence of mindless moron mentality. I'll keep pushing for a non-military national Service.

I am afraid that is a bit too harsh for me Individual.
I am very much aware my interest in the subject may well be stronger than most.
I have even had a nightmare about not being able to get the help needed.
But I do not think, never did, slackness is the problem.
Wrong people SOME TIMES,in the job, yes.
Poor training, yes.
Put cost savings on top, older folks know we once had ,even big city's, local operators.
They knew the police, the Ambos, the first response people to control traffic.
The NSW RTA has such an internal call center, it works.
In every job I ever had I knew of those who would not have a go, not put in, such jobs are not for them.
It is not illegal to monitor the police in NSW about 100.000 radio scanners have been sold in this country.
Are being used, remember,I think a good cop is worth far more than we can ever pay them.
But some calls,to domestic disputes, take many hours to answer, too many.
And with nothing but respect, white wash is the most used substance if a police man gets it so very wrong like the fool in QLD rarely will you find such a person found guilty, just moved.