Emergency response times in Central Arkansas could be slower as covid-19 cases rise in the state and hospitals fill up, Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services officials said Friday.
“We are not trying to create fear,” MEMS Executive Director Greg Thompson said. “We just want the public to understand what is happening.”
The ambulance provider that serves Pulaski, Grant and Faulkner counties, as well as the cities of Maumelle, Cabot and Conway, is seeing record numbers of calls, Thompson said.
MEMS responds to about 200 calls on a typical day, Thompson said. He said the provider has seen days with more than 250 calls in recent weeks.
As hospitals also fill up, service slows.
“When we get to the hospital, there’s not a bed for them to find, to get the patient off our bed,” Thompson said. “The hospitals are doing everything they can.”
The delay pulls ambulances from the road, he said.
A medical priorities dispatch system will triage calls as they come in, Thompson said. He said this means life-threatening calls will receive the provider’s first attention.
“This is a slow-moving mass causality incident,” Thompson said. “We are doing our best. We are working with the hospitals.”
While Thompson can only speak to his organization, he said there are reports of similar issues across the state and bordering states.
Ambulances and medical personnel from Arkansas were sent to Springfield, Mo., on Friday to assist with strains on the medical system there because of a delta variant outbreak, according to the Springfield News-Leader.