BVI’s emergency response frustrates residents

Residents took to social media to bemoan the slow response time of police and ambulance emergency services, saying an overhaul is needed to satisfy residents across the territory.

The discussion started when one resident made a Facebook post saying she phoned the Road Town police after being alerted by a vehicular accident in her community at 3 o’clock in the morning. She said other residents called the cops who took a long time to show up at the scene.

“The accident is 5 mins away from Road Town police station. At almost 30 minutes later, there is still no police on the scene,” the resident’s post read.

The response and complaints under that post highlighted a serious problem with the emergency services being offered in the territory.

Residents gave personal accounts of serious or life threatening circumstances they faced and the length of time they’ve had to wait for police or ambulance assistance. They called for more resources and emergency personnel to be dispatched to prevent fatalities in communities across the BVI.

“I don’t know what to say at times. Yesterday, we had a situation. Called the 311 number, they connected me to VG, which rang out. IJDKA (I just don’t know anymore),” one resident said.

“When I was in Miami, I saw a guy in my house on my camera. I called and called the VG department and that rang out eight times. I called Tortola, they connected me to VG three times and it rang out. Somehow the 11th time, I got connected but guess what? By the time they got to North Sound, the person was gone and I kinda lost faith in them. Many are employed at the department but it’s just for a cheque,” another resident recalled.

“Next time when you call, say drugs are involved and you’ll get them out fast.”

“There was a time when a tourist was injured at the waterfront and I called the ambulance.. they never came.. I had to put the person in a taxi to take them to the hospital,” another Facebook user shared.

Residents also called for a helicopter to transfer sick or injured people from the sister islands, saying the current state of emergency services does not serve people living on the eastern and western ends of the territory. Another resident bemoaned the lack of dive gear for the rescue team that worked to pull the body and belongings of a police officer from the waters in Road Town on October 7th.

“Another observation I made was [related to] the submerged vehicle the other day with the rescue crew not having any dive gear — not even a mask/googles. Good on them for getting in the water and doing what they did, but let’s properly kit out the rescue teams. We are surrounded by water. I should think that they would have some gear that allows for proper water rescue,” the resident suggested.

The residents’ plea comes on the heels of similar calls made by several elected leaders, who say there needs to be greater police presence to respond to incidents and emergencies in their districts. Like other public institutions, both the police force and BVI Health Services Authority have reported that they face challenges with hiring adequate personnel to cover the scope of work in the BVI.