TRIPLE ZERO EMERGENCY CALL ACCESS AUSTRALIA WIDE
My name is Kath Marsh and I live in Kojonup in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.
On the 31st October 2015, my partner, Mick, tragically passed away following a motorbike accident adjacent to my parents' farming property.
Mick had left the house prior to lunch on the ill-fated day. When he failed to return for lunch my father had gone searching for him. My father found Mick collapsed at the base of a tree on the track home. Mick was still conscious and had walked away from the scene of the accident which had occurred approximately thirty metres away. He had been wearing a helmet.
My father immediately attempted to call for an ambulance by dialling '000' on his mobile phone. The accident, unfortunately, had occurred in a mobile phone black spot resulting in no mobile phone coverage meaning he could not make a '000' call.
After attempting to call '000' with no success my father's only option to gain emergency assistance for Mick was to travel back to the house and alert my mother who called '000'. My father then returned to Mick's side and relayed information to my mother over UHF radio. This caused a delay of approximately 20 minutes in gaining emergency assistance.
When the ambulance arrived it was ascertained that due to the extent of Mick's internal injuries he would need to be airlifted to Perth via rescue helicopter. The ambulance personnel also experienced issues in contacting the rescue helicopter due to the mobile phone black spot. They also were unable to use their satellite phone. Again this caused further delays in gaining adequate medical assistance
Mick sadly passed away near the scene of the accident. I managed to make it to his side in time although by that then he had lost consciousness. Mick was much loved by everyone who met him - a true gentlemen and all round top bloke. We were engaged and had a life planned together.
We will never know for certain wherther Mick would have made it if there hadn't been a delay in accessing emergeny assistance. He certainly would have had a far better chance had there been no delays. In an emergency every second counts and to lose approximately 30 minutes in total due to no mobile network coverage undoubtably played a factor in the outcome.
In 2016 we have the technology to improve mobile phone black spots and provide greater mobile coverage Australia wide. The coverage doesn't need to be perfect - just enough to place a '000' call and help save a life. My story is not an isolated incident - others share similar stories. Please don't let this happen to other people's loved ones or families because next time it could be you.