Erasmus+ Programme – Strategic Partnership
Project Nr: 2015-1-RO01-KA202-014982
“ONE MINUTE MAY SAVE A LIFE”
Erasmus+ Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices
Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training
ZIVAC GROUP CENTRAL SRL – COORDINATING PARTNER – ROMANIA
RIVENSCO CONSULTING LTD – CYPRUS
UNIVERSITE’ EUROPEENNE LLP – UK
FUNDATIA PENTRU SMURD – ROMANIA
FORENSICS GROUP – ITALY
According to the statistic report on 2013 carried out by the Special Communications Services (STS), it shows that 17,463,468 calls have been received and solved on 112, of which only 29.09% – real and 70.91% false calls. In the countries of the partners, the issue of false calls is illustrated in a working document of the European Commission (COCOM 14-01) showing the number of false calls: Italy 10%, Great Britain 51.70% and Cyprus 8%.
The issue of 112 false calls is a real and present one, and the efficacy of the interventions requested by 112 calls largely depends on the promptitude with which the 112 dispatchers react. The issue of false calls is a European-wide problem, which has been signaled by the European Parliament since 2010, by the Report 2010/2274(INI), the member states being requested to adopt measures of reducing false calls / hoaxes by exchange of good practice.
Following the analysis of needs carried out by partners organizations, it results that the cause of the 112 false calls is mainly caused by the low level of their proffesional competences in identifying false calls. This leads to delayed reactions and in consequence of taking inefficient decisions, thus causing decrease of 112 dispatch service quality.
The competences and skills become a prerequisite in the context of which 112 dispatchers must choose rapidly, critically, and without any possibility to delay their decision, which can cost human lives. Multiple examples outlining the above approach exist not only in Romania but also in other EU countries, including It, Uk, Cyp.
The adoption of quick decisions concurrently to making some complex analytical decisions requires the 112 dispatcher’s to have knowledge and multidisciplinary competencies from the medical, technical and emotional control perspective, requiring, to this end, a life-long training.
Some studies show that the skills, knowledge, experience, sensibility, perception, empathy and intuition have helped the 112 dispatchers to act and take decisions in extremely critical situations endangering human lives.
The necessity of this project comes within the context where in Romania and also in the other EU member countries, the selection of 112 dispatchers is not based on qualification criteria customized to the complexity of this vocation. In Romania there is no certified occupation standard of 112 dispatcher, they use only short term trainings acquainting them only operation procedures. Our partners encounter the same problem, in one or another form.
The rationale of project is to perfom vocational training and education with 112 dispatchers. Consequentialy, this will reduce the number of false 112 calls and eliminating the psychological barriers at the level of 112 dispatchers (police, firemen, ambulance staff, mountain rescuers) – key pylons in the human lives rescue chain. The project’s methodology for development of competences of 112 dispatchers (cognitive, emotional and behavior), finally leads to identification of an increased number of false 112 calls.
The proposed project will create and test a complex training course, especially due to combining some techniques/ methods of psychological approach (theory and practice) with their application in practical situations, both during the training course development, during the implementation period, but also subsequent to project completion.
Thanks to all its activities, the project shall contribute to increasing the competences of dispatchers – the first-pylon of emergency services, thus reaching the objectives of Europe 2010 Strategy (assumed also by Romania in National Reforming Program to be met by end of 2020).
The project is oriented towards the European objectives and towards those of international specialized institutions, which recommend the strengthening of emergency service by life-long training, certification and accreditation.
Another reason of the project is the cooperation improvement of the partners, by exchange of good practices, mutual learning, by using modern learning techniques and methods, developing their communication skills in a foreign language and using modern IT tools.
The project’s objectives are:
– the development and implementation of innovative practices in 112 dispatching services
– obtaining basic competences in field of emergency services and several transversal competences in IT, communication in a foreign language, and of team working
– the increase of 112 dispatching services’ efficiency
– the development of 112 dispatchers’ abilities to listen, intervene and analyze the conversation with the caller to identity false 112calls
– the improvement of 112 dispatchers’ capacity to optimize the analysis of nature of the calls, for effectively directing and transmitting the emergency calls to the intervention team
– the improvement of inter-institutional cooperation of the involved actors: caller-112 dispatcher-intervention team (physician, fireman; mountain rescuer).
The project proposed by partners is highly innovative, due to the fact that, as a consequence of its implementation, it shall result a training course containing eclectic and holistic specificities of approaching the psychological mechanisms of response to emergency situations and the strategies of communicating with the caller, and, especially, the identification of increased number of false calls.
The development of the training course shall be based on innovative learning methods – interactivity; role play; case studies; aquarium technique; practice and case studies every 40 minutes of theoretical studies; beneficiaries’ development of skills and habits regarding the impact of emergency situations; beneficiaries’ development of emotional ability to understand cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes; continuous assessment. Moreover, the intervention during the training course development and its testing by experts that deal daily with emergency situations (e.g. SMURD Foundation’s recue experts), by practical simulations, combining the experience of the two categories of experts (trainers and rescuers), entails the creation and the implementation of a heterogeneous and practical, objectives-oriented training course.
The training structure and the modules shall be prepared by combining the expertise and various experiences and practices of certain experts in Europe, i.e. Romania, Italy, UK and Cyprus, who will work together, will exchange good practices and will contribute to achieving and testing the training course, but also the dissemination and transfer of results after completing the project.
Likewise, the project is innovative by its results:
– a mini-guideline of good practices – „psychological methods and support techniques for 112 dispatchers
– an e-learning platform destined to be used by the dispatchers involved in answering and managing the 112 calls, which will ensure a continuous learning among partners, target group, and other players involved in the rescue process.
The platform will be a major source for developing the competences of 112 dispatchers, of study cases / learning materials, during the project implementation and subsequent to its completion, providing continuity and sustainability of the project.
RESULTS
Apart from the intellectual outputs (detailed in intellectual outputs section) resumed as:
– training course (resulting from the analyses, research studies, interim reports, case studies of each partner and common ones) – designated to ensure support for the dispatchers of 112;
– mini-guide of good practices “methods and technics for psychological support of dispatchers of 112”;
– e-learning platform – will provide the target group, but also other stakeholder (para-physicians, physicians, firemen), with the possibility to benefit of the up-to-date training course, materials and to capture knowledge,
we expect other results, such as:
– improved competences and abilities of the 112 dispatchers in identifying false calls as a result of training course and exchange of good practices, transfer of knowledge between the partners and target group/ other stakeholders (ambulance, fire protection departments, emergency departments of hospitals, recue mountain departments);
– improved linguistic and IT skills of target groups and indirect beneficiaries;
– developing capacity of managing EU projects, and motivating the partners to realize other Erasmus+ projects;
– management strategy, plan and reports of the project;
– quality and evaluation reports concerning work progress and achievements;
– dissemination strategy, plan, reports and dissemination materials (e.g. newsletters, press release, articles in specialized publications, multiplier events).
The distribution of tasks and activities is based on each partner’s expertise as detailed in the project. Summarizing, the responsibilities between the partners are:
– Ro-coordinating partner will ensure the development and testing the training course and creation of e-learning platform;
– SUMRD (Ro partner), Italian, Cypriot and UK partners will ensure selection of the target group;
– Italian partner will lead the development of mini-guide of good practices.
In particular, the Ro-coordinating partner will be responsible for the overall: project management (preparation, monitoring and quality management; risk management; evaluation; project’s follow-up; dissemination and projects sustainability). But, all partners will be involved in each of these phases/ activities.
BENEFICIARIES
Indirect participants who will benefit of the project’s activities are para-physicians, physicians, firemen, ambulance and emergency staff, in charge with second tier of the emergency rescue chain (having direct link with injured persons) that will use the e-learning platform and benefit from the training course, materials, case studies uploading on this platform; as well as participation to multiplier events. We estimate an approximate number of total 2000 indirect participants from all partners’ countries.
The direct beneficiaries of the project are 112 dispatchers selected by each partner either from the central structure and regional dispatching services.
We estimate a total number of 95 trained 112 dispatchers, divided as follows:
– Romania – 38 dispatchers;
– Italy – 25 dispatcher;
– UK – 16 dispatchers;
– Cyprus – 16 dispatchers.