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As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to increase, ambulances in San Bernardino County are no longer responding to every sick person who calls 911.
People with relatively minor illnesses will always have paramedics who will come to their aid, assist them on the spot, or perhaps recommend that they go to emergency care.
But ambulances will be reserved for people with life-threatening emergencies such as a heart attack or breathing difficulties from COVID-19.
The decision was made by San Bernardino County officials on Thanksgiving morning as the volume of 911 calls increased 25% in a 24-hour period, due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We don’t have enough ambulances in the system to handle the volume of incoming 911 calls,” said Eric Sherwin, public information manager for the San Bernardino County Fire Department. “The hospital emergency departments are affected by both ambulance traffic and people going to the emergency room. This creates a backup in the system. “
Ambulances have waited up to five hours to get patients to bed, Sherwin said, and cannot answer other calls during that time.
California law generally requires that an ambulance be dispatched for every 911 call, regardless of the level of emergency. This means that someone who calls with a headache or sore throat is just as entitled to an ambulance as someone with a serious injury.
In June, the state allowed San Bernardino County to waive this requirement if necessary.
The goal now is to save ambulances for patients in difficult situations. The policy will be in effect for as long as needed and will apply to every 20,000 square miles in the county.
Coronavirus hospitalizations reached their highest number in the county since the start of the pandemic.
As of Monday, 856 confirmed coronavirus patients were hospitalized in San Bernardino County. Of these, 177 were in intensive care.
Similar records are set statewide. There are 8,240 hospital patients statewide with a confirmed case of coronavirus – twice as many as two weeks ago.
Los Angeles and Riverside counties have also reached their highest number of hospital patients after an increase in coronavirus cases.
Riverside County is considering a similar change in its ambulance policy if the pressure on resources worsens.
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