Ambulance Wait Times Going Up For Some Calls Beginning Monday
Ambulance wait times in Mecklenburg County will be going up for some calls beginning Monday. Under a new response plan from MEDIC officials, you could be waiting longer for non-emergency dispatches.
Mecklenburg County’s ambulance service provider says it will reduce the use of lights and sirens on calls and reduce its use of other first responders such as fire crews. The change is being made to address a “disproportionate” number of calls that turn out to be non-emergent. In numbers released by the agency, only 6.9% of calls involving lights and siren result in life saving interventions.
MEDIC executive director John Peterson said at a Davidson Town Board Meeting in January, “The purpose of this is that we want to ensure we are getting the right resources, to the right patients, in the right amount of time.”
Officials expect the change to open up resources for high acuity calls, but it will likely increase ambulance wait times for calls that are not as serious.
MEDIC officials held several town meetings on the issue during the first quarter of this year. During that review process, Cornelius Fire Chief Guerry Barbee told Cornelius Today, “Yes, I have concerns over the ‘no lights and sirens’ portion of this new response plan matrix. I have highlighted traffic congestion in the north end of the county as well as the geographic remoteness of some areas in our town as reasons for our concern.”
The changes are partly because of Covid. The pandemic left MEDIC and other agencies understaffed, and they are still struggling to fill those positions.
The official rollout of the new response plan is Monday, April 17.
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