On Thursday, February 18, the Cabinet of Ministers supported the informative report prepared by the Ministry of the Interior “Joint Contact Centre Platform to Support Operational Services and Supply of Public Services” which aims to change the organisational structure of 112 call centres and to substantially improve the quality of services provided by the emergency phone.
"Nothing can be more important than saving human lives. Every second is out of weight, so you should not allow quality to falter when accepting calls. Following the report prepared by the Ministry, we would increase the emergency services response capacity by introducing a single 112 contact center. These improvements will also help to identify the location of the caller, so the operational services will be able to get to the scene faster and provide assistance, ” said Sandis Ģirģens, the Minister of the Interior.
It is planned to create a two-tier model for emergency call handling and call execution. Such a model will facilitate the transfer of information to the caller, as the caller will not be diverted to another operational service unless the assistance of the competent service, such as medical assistance, is required.
In contrast, at the second level, the operational services involved in the situation will receive the above-mentioned electronic card and send the crews to the event accordingly. This will facilitate communication between services, as all services involved will receive information at the same time. Also, if a person calls 112 again, asking when help will arrive, the call center employee will be able to provide information on how far the crew is from the scene.
Another important improvement is the more accurate caller location (up to 50 meters radius) thanks to the Advanced Mobile Location (AML) or Extended Location System. The exact location of the caller will be determined using information provided by the Global Positioning System (GPS) or the wireless local area network (Wifi).
The project also plans to introduce a mobile app so that people can take advantage of more modern opportunities to communicate with the 112 contact center by sending pictures or even small videos, thus giving a message about where and what the accident happened. It is also intended to create functionality for people with special needs, although they can report and report an accident or misfortune.
In order to achieve all the set goals, the capacity of the 112 contact center will be increased, ie by attracting more staff, training staff, raising their qualifications and arranging appropriate working conditions.
The technical solution for the provision of the mentioned functions is being developed by implementing the ERDF project No.2.2.1.1 / 17 / I / 024 “Unified contact center platform for support of the work of operational services and delivery of public services”, while the establishment of call centers will be implemented from the state budget.
Prepared:
Samanta Nalivaiko
Ministry of the Interior
Communication departments
Public relations specialist
Phone: 67219082
E-mail: samanta.nalivaiko@iem.gov.lv