Emergency room patients wait in long lines outside hospitals after Orange County ambulance hijacking suspended – CBS Los Angeles

LOS ALAMITOS (CBSLA) – Patients taken to hospital encounter long queues in emergency room bays after the Orange County Health Care Agency suspended ambulance hijackings.

The ambulance hijacking allowed hospitals to request that emergency patients be taken to other medical centers. With so many hospitals in Orange County at full capacity due to the surge in COVID-19 patients, the suspension of diversions means hospitals must accept patients regardless of capacity.

For some hospitals, this creates long wait times, but also prevents hospitals from not taking patients when they are not full.

At Los Alamitos Medical Center, a line of at least 17 ambulances with patients was spotted outside the emergency bay on Wednesday. Paramedics from Anaheim Fire Department, Long Beach Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority and LA County Fire Department waited with their patients, some of whom were on carts, on the sidewalk leading to the driveway. the emergency bay.

Some patients received EKGs and x-rays directly in the bay, according to a paramedic who asked not to be identified. Some hospitals do not accept patients unless they first undergo a rapid test for COVID-19, he said.

Orange County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has temporarily suspended all ambulance hijackings for hospitals participating in the 9-1-1 system. Please see the statement by Dr Carl Schultz, EMS Medical Director. # OCCOVID19 #StopTheSurge #SlowTheSpread #Wear a mask pic.twitter.com/XkD5gmOVhy

– OC Health Care Agency (@ochealth) December 17, 2020

Dr Carl Schultz, medical director of Orange County Emergency Medical Services, said they were forced to take the move because the overwhelming number of patients led almost all hospitals to hijack ambulances simultaneously.

The suspension of ambulance hijacking “will spread this throughout the county and help alleviate the growing concern about finding hospital destinations for ambulances,” he said. “To our knowledge, this has never happened before.”

The county again broke its hospitalization record on Thursday – which has become a daily occurrence recently.

There are currently 1,519 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, including 343 in intensive care beds. The county’s adjusted ICU bed capacity remains at zero.