CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered two more extreme delays getting a Cleveland ambulance to medical emergencies.
And, what happened this time calls into question the city’s claim of “We’ve got you covered.”
We’ve found two more cases of people waiting more than half an hour for an ambulance after high-priority calls.
And, now, two more internal investigations.
Late last month, a woman called 911 from the Collinwood Recreation Center, saying, “They’re practicing basketball in the gym. Player got hurt, and he’s bleeding really bad.”
And, that same night, a senior citizen called 911, saying, “I’m having, like, chest pains and dizzy… stuff like that.”
But, records show, it took 32 minutes to get Cleveland EMS to the kid badly hurt at the rec center. It took 33 minutes to get a unit to the senior citizen in distress.
In both cases, a wait of more than 30 minutes even as the callers heard claims like this from dispatch: “I’m sending the paramedics to help you, now. Stay on the line…”
We spoke to the sister of the senior citizen left waiting for an ambulance. And MaChelle Jackson said, “I was really angry with them. The time they took, he could’ve died.”
She added, “He actually called me three times in between when he wanted them to pick him up. I was really scared.”
We’ve reported on Cleveland ambulance delays for years with the delays often due to short-staffing.
Cleveland City Hall keeps saying no one’s in danger. EMS never leaves an area uncovered. But, the latest half-hour response times raise questions about that.
We checked how far an ambulance crew had to drive to get to one call. Fourteen and a half miles. All the way from the other side of town. Dispatch notes from the other call show no units available.
Yet, Safety Director Karrie Howard recently told us, “EMS engages in dynamic deployment. And, between EMS and fire, our first responders will make sure they’re covered.”
A delay several weeks ago sparked an internal investigation. And, the latest calls with 30-minute responses are also now under internal investigation.
EMS Interim Deputy Commissioner Chris Chapin wrote in e-mails, “…according to the policies of the Division there should be no delay dispatching of this severity of an emergency. The Division is currently investigating and if warranted disciplinary action will be enacted, due to the investigation we are unable to comment further.”
The sister of that senior citizen left waiting couldn’t agree more that there should be no delay.
“Somebody could die, or anything could happen. That’s a horrible feeling,” she said.
Cleveland EMS has struggled to hire more people, a nationwide problem. But, we keep asking, in the meantime, what else is the city doing to cut down on delays?