NYC lawmakers say growing ambulance response times have deadly consequences

 

NYC lawmakers say growing ambulance response times have deadly conseq

City lawmakers say New Yorkers are waiting longer than ever for emergency medical attention at the same time the city is struggling to keep enough ambulances – and staff – on the streets.

And the city’s strained medical resources are becoming the difference in life and death for some of its residents.

City Councilmembers and residents bemoaned the decline in response times during a joint-committee hearing of the fire and emergency management, hospitals and oversight committees Friday — especially as the delays seem to hit low-income communities of color much harder than more affluent areas.

“It is apparent to anyone paying attention that our city has struggled to meet its obligation to provide timely medical care to all New Yorkers,” said Councilmember Joann Ariola, chair of the Council’s fire and emergency management committee. "Every second counts and the patient outcomes can be dramatically altered even by the slightest delay."

The average response time to life-threatening medical emergencies increased by more than a minute within the past five years, jumping from 6 minutes and 22 seconds in fiscal year 2019 to 7 minutes and 23 seconds in fiscal year that ended in June, according to data cited by Ariola. Medical professionals say each lost second in a heart attack, stroke, gunshot or knife wound can be the difference between life and death, or long-term health and permanent damage.

The delays are particularly severe in some of the city’s most under-resourced neighborhoods, where residents often live the farthest from hospitals, according to councilmembers. Low pay and subpar working conditions are forcing some medical workers to leave the profession altogether while some of the city’s hospitals, including SUNY Downstate, in Brooklyn, and Mount Sinai’s Beth Israel, in Manhattan, are on the brink of closure.

Mayesha Morales recounted the story of her father’s death during the Friday hearing. She said it took almost an hour for an ambulance to arrive at her family’s home as her father lay helpless in a pool of his own blood. He later died at the hospital.

Her mother, who sat next to her in City Hall, sobbed as Morales spoke.

“When the EMTs arrived, there was no sense of urgency. In fact, they looked like they just woke up from a nap,” Morales said. “They lifted him onto the gurney without a sheet or a cover to protect his dignity. When we asked for a sheet, we were told they had none.”

Fire department officials said the number of calls for emergency medical attention are increasing even as response times slow down. The total number of “life threatening” phone calls increased by 5% between the past two fiscal years, with 633,361 calls made in fiscal year 2024, compared to 605,140 in 2023, Michael Fields, chief of EMS operations for the fire department, said in a testimony Friday.

Fields blamed delayed medical attention to traffic, crowded hospitals and state law dictating that emergency medical staff stay with a patient until they receive medical care from hospital staff.

He fielded numerous questions from elected officials on how the city plans to retain more medical staff, stating that the city is working with recruiters to get more people to stay. 

There are 669 ambulances in the city’s fleet with 143 out of service due to staffing shortages or maintenance, according to FDNY.

“We are getting the job done with what we have,” said Evan Suchecki, chief of FDNY fleet services, adding that “any additional staffing would always benefit the bureau, of course.”

Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse of Brooklyn said the delay times are also particularly long for residents in her southeastern Brooklyn district, which includes Canarsie and Bergen Beach.

“When ambulances are delayed, the pressure multiplies not only in the ER but also for families and patients that are left in critical situations waiting for help to arrive,” Narcisse, who chairs the Hospitals subcommittee, said. “New Yorkers deserve to know that in an emergency an ambulance will be there ready to take them to the hospital where they can receive timely life saving care.”