America's 911 System Is a 'Broken Promise' as Dispatcher Shortages Persist

A 911 dispatcher answers an emergency call at a communications centre in the United States, where records show many cities are failing to meet national response time standards (Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department/WikiMedia Commons)

Caitlin Ditta was breastfeeding her baby on the sofa in Oakland, California, when she felt blood pouring from her body. She and her husband dialled 911 again and again. Nobody picked up.

The 33-year-old school therapist had been warned by doctors weeks earlier, after a postpartum haemorrhage, that any further bleeding could be fatal without immediate help, Ditta told Mother Jones in a joint investigation with Type Investigations.