The Västmanland region has chosen this summer to reduce the ambulance operations in the northern counties from three daily cars to two. In the worst case, this could lead to a 112-caller in the northern counties waiting for help, says Fagersta ambulance staff.
- If we get a ride, we might be gone between two to three hours. It will be vulnerable, says Anders Lundholm, who works as an ambulance nurse.
The reason why it takes a while is that every emergency call where a patient needs emergency care also leads to a lower transport, either to Sala, Västerås or Köping with a travel time of at least 40 minutes, says Anders Lundholm and colleagues.
Rigged for a pandemicThe head of ambulance health operations in Region Västmanland does not believe there is any cause for concern this summer - despite a pandemic we have not seen yet.
- Since we have stations and staffing that cover the entire county, you need not be worried. We are involved in planning. We understand the turmoil, we are still in a pandemic, but we have been rigged for it, ”says Sari Stenius, acting chief operating officer for ambulance health care in Västmanland.