“We take it for granted on a daily basis that if we have emergencies, whatever the need, we can call 911 notification at any time, we can get into an emergency, we can climb into an ICU bed if there is an accident, trauma is, heart attack, stroke, “James Williams, of Santa Clara province, told ABC7 News.
“And what’s happening now is because of the volume, because of the impact on hospitals, we’re seeing these waiting times, we’re seeing these backups in emergency rooms, and that’s a lot of us.”
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The San Jose Fire Department even had to step in to help. According to the province, they transported about six patients last week due to the waiting period.
“All of our hospitals are experiencing these consequences. It’s not just one city,” Williams said.
Williams said a number of patients are being held in emergency departments to wait for a hospital bed to open, which also contributes to the waiting time.
ABC7 News went to the hospital’s emergency rooms in San Jose on Monday afternoon. We did not see ambulances waiting in line. Williams said it was expected and that the numbers were changing minute by minute.
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“We have increasing sporadic incidents that even get up at 7 o’clock, but it only happens on occasion,” he said, “but if it does happen to you, if you need access, it does not matter to you what the total average is about.” a long period. “
Not all Bay Area provinces are yet at this tipping point. In Marin County, dr. Dustin Ballard, the medical director of the Marine Emergency Services, said the median waiting time. is currently between 13 and 17 minutes. The highest it was was about 30 minutes, which is the state standard.
The situation in Santa Clara County, however, is reason enough for neighboring states to be vigilant.
“It can change,” Dr. Ballard said. “We are a few days past the new year and things can change very quickly, so we need to be prepared for the potential for rapid change as we have seen elsewhere.”
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