DENVER—A shortage of ambulances, lack of staff and repeat calls from people who don’t have an emergency are producing ambulance delays from Denver Health, and a city councilman is asking for a review of the ambulance system, KMGH-TV reported.
The head of Denver Health’s emergency response system insisted the system is operating properly, the station said.
Denver Health’s contract with the city pledges to have an ambulance arrive less than 9 minutes after a 911 emergency call. The city has accepted Denver Health’s pledge to meet that goal 85 percent of the time, KMGH reported.
A two-month review by the station of documents obtained under state open-records laws showed that paramedics failed to meet the goal 12 percent of the time, or on 1,100 calls. Some 88 calls exceeded 20 minutes.
The station quoted paramedics, dispatchers and firefighters as saying the problems are putting some patients’ lives at risk.
“People absolutely are waiting for ambulances longer than they should,” one paramedic said. “Sometimes in Denver you would be a lot better off driving yourself to the hospital,” another said.
Records show that over the past two months, on certain shifts managers decided to cancel or not fill five or more paramedic or EMT units.
Dr. Chris Colwell, medical director of the Denver Health EMS System, said the city has one of the best outcomes for patients using Denver Health ambulances.
Colwell said he has worked with social service agencies and at-home medical providers to address the issue of so-called “frequent fliers”—people who repeatedly call 911 to get to the hospital in non-emergency situations.
“I do agree it’s a very difficult aspect to manage, and I do agree it has impact on the system,” Colwell said.
City Council President Michael Hancock said he was asking Mayor John Hickenlooper to review the ambulance response system.
“There’s no excuse for not getting to where you need to be to serve a person who needs assistance,” Hancock said.
