On October 20, 45 ambulances and two EKAV mobile detachments “left” to the Attica basin in the morning and afternoon shifts. At night, 28 ambulances and two mobile teams. The permanent population of the basin is 3,792,500 people. If the rule of one ambulance per 35,000 inhabitants could be observed, there would have to be more than 100 ambulances per shift.

Outside of Attica, the situation is just as problematic: in 55 regional units on the mainland and the island, such as Florina, Kastoria, Chios, Kos, Samos, Santorini, Paros, Tinos, Mykonos, etc., one ambulance is on duty per shift. . And, according to EKAV workers, “when the only ambulance is not on the way, the second one that is needed will be in danger of death.”

The reason is the great shortage of personnel, especially rescuers. From 2019 to the present day, 450 rescuers have retired. At the height of the pandemic, 560 support staff were hired on contracts that expire at the end of the year unless a new extension is granted. However, the organization estimates that in order to close the gaps and be able to cover the last part of the country with two ambulances per shift, it will also be necessary to leave support staff and hire an additional 700 rescuers. A direct consequence of the lack of personnel and the small number of ambulances are delays in responding to incidents. In the most urgent case, i.e. a serious traffic accident, it can take up to 25-30 minutes before the ambulance arrives at the victim. In the least urgent time is estimated at 45 minutes. In cases that are not urgent and the patient is not in danger, for example. fever, an ambulance may arrive after 2 or even 3 hours.

“We try to get to the emergency room as quickly as possible. There are delays in incidents that, based on the calls we’ve received, are considered less urgent. But the person who calls EKAB cannot make a diagnosis, and an incident described as non-urgent can be extremely serious,” said Giorgos Matiopoulos, president of the EKAB union in Athens, in an interview with K.

45-50 ambulances and 2 EKAB mobile units cover emergencies in Attica in the morning and afternoon. 30 minutes can be an ambulance response time in very urgent cases. Every day there are 1200 ambulance calls in the pool. 55 district units of the country are “covered” by only one ambulance per shift.

NHS pathologies also bear a share of the responsibility for EKAB delays, from staffing shortages in emergency departments (EDs) to even the on-call system itself. In Attica, there is a day of the week when the only pulmonology clinic is on duty at the Triasio Hospital in Elefsina. In the swimming pool, the hospitals of Athens (1st Ministry of Health) start their work at 14:30. and hospitals of the 2nd Ministry of Health such as Attikon, Tsanio, Kratiko Nikaya at 8 am. This means that the emergency until 14:30. he will be served in one of the hospitals of the 2nd Ministry of Health, even if not the closest ones. “Emergency departments in at least 8-10 hospitals should be on duty around the clock in all specialties. It is illogical that an ambulance transporting a traffic victim from Argyroupoli has to cross all of Athens to reach the KAT,” said Mr Matiopoulos.

However, they must also be well stocked. Today, in TEP hospitals, it can take 45 minutes for cases to arrive from an ambulance. As the rescuer describes to “K”, “an ambulance pulls up to the intensive care unit, there is no ambulance, and we are asked to take the patient to the clinic on a stretcher. The patient develops discomfort, stomach pain, heartburn and sweating. In the pathoanatomical department, the doctors tell us to take the patient to the cardiology department. “Not to us, let the gastroenterologists look first,” they tell us in the cardiology department. And gastroenterologists are asking us to return to the pathology department so that doctors can write tests there.” EKAB services have estimated that the average time to get patients to the emergency room is between 30 and 45 minutes per incident. After that, the crew will need to clean the ambulance cabin. With the widespread spread of COVID-19, if the patient had symptoms, it would be necessary to decontaminate. 45 minutes becomes two hours. And according to workers, “there are ambulances that, due to delays in hospitals, serve three calls (including patients) in eight hours, when the average number of ambulances is 6-7 calls.”

Added to these problems is the misuse of EKAB services by citizens. According to official figures, EKAV Attica receives between 1,000 and 1,200 transport requests daily. 500 of them are real emergencies. Recently, AKAB received a statement from a citizen who asked to call an ambulance to go to the hospital, as he had a fever. As he describes in his complaint, the EKAB coordinator told him that he would have to wait because they had had stoppages and traffic accidents that they had to attend to as a matter of priority. An hour later he called again and was again told that the ambulance was late. He waited another hour and then took a taxi to the hospital. In his complaint, he asked EKAV to compensate him for the taxi fare. “He kind of tells you that I want an ambulance for a taxi,” an EKAV employee told K. In addition, in the era of COVID-19, due to the fear of citizens being stuck in an ambulance, combined with curfews and self-isolation, requests for transfers have fallen by up to 50%, and calls for truly urgent transfers are the same as before. per semester – from 200 to 220 per day.

Hospitals are also abusing EKAB services and even legally! Recently, a hospital in Attica sent a letter to EKAB asking for an ambulance and staff to handle mail transport and food distribution in different hospital buildings. As absurd as it may sound, the hospital administration has the right to ask for this help, since since 2014, ambulances with 170 personnel that were at the hospitals, as well as their duties, have been “passed over” to EKAV. According to Mr. Matiopoulos, 80% of this staff is now retired.

Numbers

45-50 ambulances and 2 EKAB mobile units cover emergencies in Attica in the morning and afternoon.
thirty minutes can be EMS response time for very urgent incidents.
1200 calls an ambulance every day.
55 regional divisions of the country are “covered” by only one ambulance per shift.