With intensive care units in Southern California hospitals nearly full due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency (EMS) has instructed ambulance teams not to transport low-survival patients to hospitals and to use to conserve oxygen.
Los Angeles and Southern California are facing one of the worst outbreaks of the new coronavirus in the country. ICU bed capacity dropped to 0% in Southern California last month as more and more people were hospitalized seeking treatment for Covid-19.
Now, many medical facilities simply do not have the space to accommodate patients who have no chance of survival, the agency said.
Monday night, 7,544 people were hospitalized in Los Angeles because of Covid-19 and only 17 available adult IC beds, according to county health data. Due to the shortage of beds, the provincial EMS said that despite resuscitation attempts, patients whose heart has stopped should no longer be transported to hospitals.
If there are no signs of breathing or a pulse, EMS will continue to perform CPR for at least 20 minutes, the EMS memo said. Once the patient has stabilized after the CPR period, the patient will be transferred to a hospital. If the patient is pronounced dead on the spot or if no pulse can be recovered, paramedics will no longer transport the body to the hospital.
Oxygen deficiency: An oxygen shortage in Los Angeles and the nearby San Joaquin Valley, thanks to Covid-19, puts enormous strain on the system, forcing paramedics to conserve supplies.
To maintain normal circulation of the blood to the organs and tissues necessary for the body to function, EMS said that an oxygen saturation of at least 90% will be sufficient.
California Governor Gavin Newsom formed a task force last week to address the issue. It works with local and state partners to refill oxygen tanks and mobilize them to the most needy hospitals and facilities.