By Debbie LaPlaca
Telegram & Gazette
DUDLEY, Mass. — Selectmen have ordered Fire Chief Jeffrey E. Phelps to adequately staff the ambulance night shift and reduce turnover time when sending calls to mutual-aid towns.
From 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night, Dudley ambulance needs are to be answered by two volunteer on-call medics. A sign-up sheet, posted amonth in advance, is used to fill the four-hour shifts.
Through the recent investigation of an “EMS incident,” selectmen learned that the night shifts are, at times, short of personnel.
In a motion Monday, Selectman Jonathan Ruda called for Chief Phelps to guarantee that two medics are on call during all shifts, every night.
“Am I being mandated to tell my personnel that they have to man these shifts at $5 per hour?” Chief Phelps asked the board.
The answer, sternly given by Chairman Paul M. Joseph, was yes.
“It is your responsibility to have two EMTs signed up for every 6-to-6 ambulance shift. We want fast coverage and we want proper coverage,” he said.
Five months after selectmen reversed their decision to dismiss Chief Phelps, an unanswered ambulance call has led board members to openly criticize his performance.
Town Administrator Peter M. Jankowski said the incident was a Sept. 13 ambulance call to aid a person with distressed breathing on WestMain Street. The Dudley dispatcher was unable to raise a second medic after waiting the allotted two minutes.
According to protocol, a call went out to all Dudley EMTs, in a process known as “toning out.” After no response in the allotted one-minute wait, the dispatcher sent the call to Webster. By the time a second Dudley EMT responded, a Webster ambulance was on the scene.
At the board’s last meeting, Selectman Steven P. Sullivan said he heard of the incident from a resident and complained that his requestfor more information from the chief had gone unanswered for seven weeks.
Sometime later the chief reported that only one person was on callfor that shift.
Had the dispatcher known only one person was on call, Webster could have been contacted three minutes earlier.
With the selectmen’s action Monday, the one-minute “toning out” has been eliminated from the sequence. The mandatory two on-call EMTs are to respond within two minutes or the call goes directly to the closest mutual aid town.
In an interview yesterday, Mr. Jankowski said he met with Chief Phelps, and all but one night shift in December has been filled.
Dudley ambulance personnel receive $5 per hour to be on call. If they respond to a call, they receive an additional $10 to $30 per hourdepending on the type of emergency.
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