Emergency dispatcher charged after baby’s call was classed as non-urgent

Yle reports that a prosecutor has charged a shift supervisor at the Oulu emergency response centre with breaching official duties. The supervisor is accused of incorrectly classifying an emergency call about a lifeless baby at the end of 2024.

The suspected error did not affect the child’s death, according to the investigation.

The case began when a mother from Karjalohja found her baby lifeless during a nap on Boxing Day. The parents called the emergency response centre, but the call was not treated as urgent, or an A-class assignment.

Instead, the emergency was classified as a C-class assignment. As a result, an ambulance arrived more than half an hour later. The child was pronounced dead.

The call from Uusimaa was routed to the Oulu emergency response centre.

The case will later be heard by the Oulu District Court.