Worst ambulance dispatcher ever told woman she’d die

An unapologetic ambulance dispatcher claims she was overworked and under pressure when she told a dying French woman, “You’ll definitely die one day” — hours before the victim actually did, according to reports.

Patient Naomi Musenga was having severe stomach pain when she dialed the city of Strasbourg’s ambulance service and got the gruff operator on the line, BBC News reported.

“I’m going to die,” Musenga told the worker, who replied, “You’ll definitely die one day, like everyone else.”

As Musenga struggled to describe her pain, the dispatcher responded, “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’ll hang up!”

The worker, who has not been identified, eventually dispatched a doctor to Musenga instead of an ambulance. After five hours, the 22-year-old victim was rushed to a hospital, where she suffered a stroke and died of multiple organ failure.

The dispatcher, who came under fire for her callous comment, tried to defend herself by saying she and her colleagues are “constantly under pressure” — but she stopped short of apologizing to Musenga’s family.

“In the conditions, let’s say it was inappropriate,” the worker told French TV on Sunday night when asked if she regretted her behavior. “We are constantly under pressure … I can be two or three hours hanging on my phone, I have no time to get up. There’s so much [demand] everywhere. We hang up, and we pick up.”

Last week, her lawyer said she normally fields an average of 2,000 calls a day.

“When … you hear, ‘I have a stomach ache’ … it is true that the first reflex is to think that there is no absolute emergency and that one has to go and see their [general practitioner],” the lawyer said.

The dispatcher had just returned to work after being off for two weeks and started her day at 7:30 a.m. Musenga’s call came four hours into her shift, at 11:30 a.m.

The victim’s 3-minute call dates back to December — but it recently made headlines after the disturbing audio was released.

The worker, who has been a part of the ambulance system for 24 years, has been suspended, the BBC said, citing Le Parisien newspaper.

Musenga’s family said the operator isn’t to blame and sympathized with her stressful working conditions, France’s BFMTV reported.

Authorities are investigating but said they’re looking into streamlining France’s emergency phone numbers, which vary for police, ambulance, fire and the European Union emergency number 112.

Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, said French citizens are more familiar with 911 than their own set of numbers.

via:  https://nypost.com/2018/05/14/worst-ambulance-dispatcher-ever-told-woman-shed-die/