Helsinki’s emergency response centre receives 1,400 calls a day on average; 80 are for sleeping drunks

Understaffed police unable to take drunks quickly away from Helsinki’s streets

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According to the emergency response centre (ERC) of Helsinki, the number of drunken individuals lying on the streets and lawns of the Finnish capital has reached excessively high levels.
      In August alone, the ERC of Helsinki received an average of 80 calls a day, notifying the authorities of drunks having passed out in the open air. This is roughly equal to 2,300 emergency calls per month.
      Upon receiving an emergency call it is the task of the ERC to relay the calls to the appropriate assistance authorities.
     
"It is difficult to tell whether or not an emergency call is an appropriate one", says Markus Grönholm, the Director of the ERC of Helsinki.
      "If an individual is lying on the ground, the call is certainly not inappropriate, but does the situation require immediate action?" he asks.
      In the summer, it is up to the police to decide whether or not a drunken person has to be taken away, if he or she is not lying in a dangerous place. In such a case a drunk may have to wait for a transfer for some time, as owing to their limited resources, the police have to prioritize their tasks.
      However, in the winter when there is a risk of frost injuries and hypothermia, all such cases become urgent.
     
The average number of all emergency calls per day received at the ERC of Helsinki is 1,400, while the summer months are the busiest months of the year.
      In August, the total number of emergency calls was more than 44,200, of which some 18,500 tasks were registered at the ERC. Nearly 7,500 tasks were relayed to the police, some 4,500 to the health care services, and about 880 to the rescue services, while approximately 500 were passed on the neighbouring ERCs, and around 5,400 to other assistance authorities, including the Coast Guard.
      ERC operators have been trained to assess each situation in line with instructions providing the predetermined urgent task classes and prioritization.
     
The ERC of Helsinki is still suffering from a shortage of personnel, and currently nearly 30 per cent of the ERC employees are police officers fresh from school, covering the shortage of manpower.
      "The target is to answer 90 per cent of calls within ten seconds. At present, the figure is some 70 to 78 per cent", Grönholm reported.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Embattled Emergency Response Centre head resigns (12.10.2006)
  Lack of personnel risks quality of rescue services in Helsinki (14.2.2006)

Links:
  Emergency Response Centre Administration

Helsingin Sanomat