Ambulances wait more than 7 hours outside Santa Clara County hospitals as COVID-19 cases skyrocket

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) – In Santa Clara County, the hospital system is so stretched that ambulances sometimes have to wait several hours to unload patients. It is the latest example of how hospitals in the region are stretched as ICU admissions continue to rise.

“We take it for granted on a daily basis that if we have an emergency, whatever the need, at any time we can call 911, we can go into an emergency room, we can go into an intensive care bed in accident, trauma, heart attack, stroke, ”Santa Clara County Council James Williams told ABC7 News.

“And what’s happening now is because of the volume, because of the impact on hospitals, we see these wait times, we see these backups in emergency rooms, and that concerns us a lot. . “

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The San Jose Fire Department even had to step in to help. They transported about six patients last week due to the wait time issue, according to the county.

“All of our hospitals are feeling these impacts. It’s not just one or one city,” Williams said.

Williams said a number of patients are being held in emergency departments while waiting for a hospital bed to open, which also contributes to wait times.

ABC7 News went to the emergency room at San Jose hospitals on Monday afternoon. We did not see any ambulances lined up waiting. Williams said it’s expected and the numbers change minute by minute.

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“We have an increase in sporadic incidents exceeding even just 7 hours, but that only happens occasionally,” he said, “But if it happens to you, when you need access, it doesn’t matter what you average is over a long period of time. “

Not all of the Bay Area counties are at this tipping point yet. In Marin County, Dr. Dustin Ballard, medical director of Marin Emergency Services, reported the median ambulance wait time. currently lasts between 13 and 17 minutes. The highest it was is about 30 minutes, which is the state standard.

Still, the situation in Santa Clara County is reason enough for neighboring counties to be on guard.

“That could change,” Dr. Ballard said. “We’re a few days away from New Years and things could change very quickly, so we need to prepare for the potential for rapid change as we’ve seen elsewhere.

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