Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Calls and Trauma Emergency Calls in Hangzhou

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on emergency calls and trauma emergency calls in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Method: This was a single-center retrospective study. Data on emergency calls and trauma emergency calls in Hangzhou during the COVID-19 epidemic (January 23, 2020, to March 15, 2020) were collected from the Hangzhou Emergency Center (HEC). All emergency data were compared with the data during the same period in 2019. Results: The number of emergency calls from HEC decreased by 17.1%, ambulance assignments by 29.1%, rescue personnel first-aid calls by 22.4%, and trauma emergency calls by 40.8% in 2020 compared with those during the same period in 2019. Conclusion: The numbers of emergency calls from HEC and trauma emergency calls significantly decreased during the COVID-19 epidemic in Hangzhou, highlighting serious social issues that required the attention of the medical community and the government.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Services: The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on pre-hospital services

“…The authors of the study attributed this decrease in the total number of emergency calls, irrespective of the type of call, to various factors such as the decrease in the mobility of the population during this period, and economic reasons. 15 However, although these findings are in contrast to those of the current study, which showed a significant increase in the number of overall emergency calls received by PHEMS in relation to Artvin Province during a certain timeframe of the pandemic period compared to the same timeframe the previous year; the results of the Chinese study, and the current study are similar in that both showed that the number of emergency calls related to trauma decreased regardless of gender.…”

“…A study conducted in China in 2020 showed that the numbers of emergency calls in general and the emergency calls related to trauma in particular received by PHEMS during the pandemic period (i.e., between January 23, 2020 and March 15, 2020) were lower than during the pre-pandemic period (i.e., the same period of 2019). 15 The analysis of the research data revealed a significant decrease in the number of general emergency calls and emergency calls related to trauma during the pandemic period compared to the pre-pandemic period. The authors of the study attributed this decrease in the total number of emergency calls, irrespective of the type of call, to various factors such as the decrease in the mobility of the population during this period, and economic reasons.…”

“…These groupings were based on previously published studies that adopted similar classifications. 6,11,15 In analyzing the service performance of PHEMS teams, the response times set forth in the Ministry of Health’s quality standards were taken into consideration. Moreover, the analyses were conducted based on the 32 emergency parameters determined by the WHO, and cases that fell outside the scope of these parameters were categorized as non-emergency cases to identify redundant calls made to PHEMS during both the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods.…”