Is new emergency services control room a necessity?
I DON'T think many of us have come away unscathed by the recent weather. Even if we have had no damage to our personal property, you only have to look around to see the devastation caused to the island, and, as its inhabitants, the cost of repairing that damage will be a burden to us all. So where do we find the money, already thought to be hundreds of thousands of pounds at least and it's not over yet? I have an idea. Would it not be prudent to spend the money proposed for a joint emergency control room (thought to be in the region of £2m. to £3m.) on a more worthwhile and urgent cause?
The emergency services have worked tirelessly over this period, without issue, so it would seem they work very well independently of each other but all with the same goal. Throughout the last few weeks, while most of us have been sheltering indoors, police officers and firefighters, along with the States Works Department and civil protection volunteers, have all been out working together successfully to assist the community in preventing danger to life and damage to property.
From the outside, it doesn't look like there were any communication problems, which I assume is a reason for this proposal, and with modern technology as it is, with mobiles and radios (and didn't we spend a lot of money on a state of the art radio system to link the services recently?), I don't really see the benefit this move would have for the community. I'm also assuming that a larger-scaled control room means more staff, so, added to the initial set-up costs, the annual wage bill would increase significantly.
Also, I have heard that the long-term aim is to move all the emergency services to a new, purpose-built site in a few years' time, therefore wouldn't it be more cost-effective to wait and move everyone together rather than move the control room staff twice?
It seems to me that as there is nothing broken with the emergency services control room, there is no need to fix it. What obviously does need fixing, and immediately, are the coastal defences. Fixing these and improving existing defences will go some way to prevent damage of this scale from reoccurring, for which I'm sure the residents of the east and west coasts especially will be grateful.
If anyone from the States would like to comment and provide me with an insight as to where this proposal came from and the reasons for it, or correct me on anything, I would be pleased to read their response. I would also be interested to hear from anyone in the emergency services.
Name and address withheld.
Editor's footnote: Deirdre Dudley-Owen, programme information and communications manager, responds: 'Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to respond to your letter. The creation of a Joint Emergency Services Control Centre will provide a central location for the Guernsey Police, Guernsey Fire and Rescue Service and St John Ambulance and Rescue Service to coordinate and respond to emergency calls from the Bailiwick.
This is a major project for the Home Department, with the objective being to provide members of the public with the highest quality of response to emergency calls delivered in the most coordinated, efficient and cost-effective manner possible from a single Joint Emergency Services Control Centre.
The one-off capital cost for the project is expected to be in the region of £300,000, with funding allocated from the Home Department budget. These costs will cover building works, staff training and specialist furniture and equipment.
The running cost to operate the new control centre is not expected to be more than the cost of running the existing three control rooms and will provide opportunities for enhanced and more efficiently coordinated responses by the emergency services.
A significant saving will also be made by taking 999 calls directly into the single control centre.
The furniture and specialist equipment being installed in the new control centre will be relocated to the proposed single site for the emergency services should this project be allocated funding by the States of Guernsey.
The plan is for all 999 calls to be handled through the control room by early 2015.
As the project progresses, we will provide regular updates through media releases to the public.'
