As the intensive care units at hospitals in Southern California are almost full due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMS) has instructed ambulance personnel to transport patients with low chance of survival to hospitals and the use to preserve oxygen.
Los Angeles and Southern California are dealing with one of the country’s worst outbreaks of the novel coronavirus. ICU bed capacity dropped to 0% in Southern California last month as more and more people were hospitalized for Covid-19 treatment.
Many medical facilities, according to the agency, simply do not have the space to take in patients who do not have a chance of surviving.
As of Monday night, there were 7,544 people hospitalized in Los Angeles due to Covid-19 and only 17 available ICU beds for adults, according to the country’s health data. Due to the shortage of beds, the province of EMS said that patients whose hearts have stopped, despite resuscitation efforts, should no longer be transported to hospitals.
If there are no signs of breathing or a pulse, EMS will do resuscitation for at least 20 minutes, the EMS memo said. If the patient is stabilized after the resuscitation period, the patient is transported to a hospital. If the patient is pronounced dead at the scene or if no pulse can be restored, paramedics will no longer transport the body to the hospital.
Oxygen deficiency: A shortage of oxygen in Los Angeles and the nearby San Joaquin Valley puts tremendous pressure on the system thanks to Covid-19, forcing paramedics to save supplies.
To maintain the normal circulation of the blood to organs and tissues necessary for the body’s functioning, EMS said that an oxygen saturation of at least 90% would be sufficient.
California Gov. Newsom convened a task force last week to address the issue. It works with local and state partners to refill and mobilize oxygen tanks to hospitals and facilities that are most needed.