Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Liberals and Nationals show senior executives at Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (ESTA) were aware of the decline in call pick-up and dispatch delays which contributed to the loss of 33 Victorians lives.
During peak periods, ESTA tested new software which crashed and in October 2020 board minutes showed “the CEO reported that despite the delays, they were confident in the quality of the software.”
However between November 2020 and May 2021, the bungled upgrade to ESTA’s Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) systemcaused it to shut down a least five times. Each time, Ambulance Victoria had to invoke emergency protocols where patients could be told to take taxis instead of waiting for an ambulance.
In January 2021, the CEO reported that it had been a difficult two months with pandemic fatigued staff and the”go live” with CAD.
In April 2021, minutes showed that as the system crashed, alternative CAD systems were considered,”manual pen and paper operations” were in force.
In July 2021, the board was informed that”there were still instances where a small number of screens were suffering from short moments of freezing”when operating the CAD system.
In May 2022, it was reported that Triple-Zero operators were again forced to use pen and paper.
More than $15 million has now been spent on consultants including for 58 reviews, $15,000 on career management, interview and resume coaching and $5,700 on career coaching and transition to retirement.
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Brad Battin, said the system was broken.
“Daniel Andrews knew the system was broken, did nothing to fix it,and 33 Victorians have lost their lives,” Mr Battin said.
“Instead, he cut the number of triple-zero call takers at a time he needed to be recruiting more.
“Victorians deserve better than a government concerned only with spin and excuses. You can’t trust the person who caused this mess to fix it.”
