Local ambulance services seeing major decline in calls due to COVID-19 fears

Ambulance services in Western Pa. is seeing a major decline in calls – some areas are down 50%.

The reason comes down to COVID-19 fears, and those fears could be putting patients at risk.

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Local paramedics on the front lines told Channel 11 the fear of catching coronavirus is preventing sometimes very ill patients from calling 911.

“We’ve been down about 10 percent, but many EMS providers have been down 25, 35, 50 percent,” said Eric Schmidt, executive director for Shaler-Hampton EMS.

Schmidt said the patients they do see are much sicker.

“We suspect it’s because they are waiting to call the ambulance because they are concerned about going to the hospital,” he said.

In Allegheny County, paramedics have noticed patients who do call 911 instead of riding it out at home will put on the brakes before getting into the ambulance. They are afraid of catching the virus.

Channel 11 got to see what happens how ambulances are treated in between patients.

Stretchers are removed and disinfected; a special sanitizing solution is sprayed on the inside of the ambulance; and nothing is left to chance – everything is cleaned from floor to ceiling before the next patient.

“Our ambulances are decontaminated after every single patient. In addition, we have a service that comes in twice a week and does a deep clean on them in addition to what our crews do after every single call,” Schmidt said.

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