Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Medical Services

Abstract

Emergency medical services (EMSs) are crucial to national health-care systems, facilitating the transfer of disaster, accident, and illness victims to hospitals or providing treatment in ambulances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, symptoms such as cough, fever, and throat discomfort significantly increased EMS calls in Israel, indicative of the virus’s impact. Concurrently, there was a notable rise in mental health-related calls and nonhospitalization incidents. As countries implemented social distancing and “stay-at-home” orders to reduce virus transmission and health-care system strain, several changes occurred in social behaviors and emergency response systems. This led to a reduction in emergency department (ED) visits, possibly due to fears of contracting COVID-19, suggesting that serious medical cases may have avoided seeking necessary care. Furthermore, in some regions, the high demand on EMS services resulted in prolonged response times. For instance, in Tijuana, Mexico, ambulance arrival times increased from 16.4 min in 2019 to 20.5 min during the pandemic’s peak. Similar delays were observed in New York City, including Manhattan and the Bronx. The global impact was also evident as ambulance response times, case volumes, and hospital wait times worsened even after lockdowns were lifted. In Italy, ambulance journeys that typically took 8 min extended to several hours. In addition, some trauma centers were unable to accept trauma patients due to a shortage of inpatient beds, further strained by the heightened demand for EMS amid the pandemic.