Understaffed 112 control room in east passes calls north

The ambulance control room (meldkamer) Oost-Nederland could not answer 112 calls itself on several occasions in recent months because of understaffing, including on the night of 30 September to 1 October. Calls went instead to its "buddy" control room in Noord-Nederland.

The Oost-Nederland room is the largest in the country. The emergency services work together there for 79 municipalities, including IJsselland, Noord- and Oost-Gelderland and Twente.

Spokesperson Jonne van Eck of the Witte Kruis confirmed the problem and said no call went unanswered. A call waits sixty seconds before it is forwarded to another control room. "In an emergency, sixty seconds is a very long time, but the call isn't being ignored," she said.

Van Eck said two trends are coming together: a shortage of healthcare staff everywhere and a sharp rise in the number of 112 calls. The control room is training more people, but the course takes months. She said staffing levels are back to normal for now and a longer-term solution is being worked on.

Later this month the national government will launch a campaign explaining when it is and is not necessary to call 112, to cut unnecessary calls.

Patiëntenfederatie Nederland, the patients' federation, said it was shocked. "This is a matter of life and death. Everyone who calls 112 and needs care immediately must be able to get it in time: 112 must always be easy to reach."