Lasting Effects of COVID-19 Pandemic on Prehospital Emergency Medical Service Missions

The COVID-19 pandemic confronted prehospital emergency medical services (PHEMS) with immense challenges. This study aimed to investigate the development of PHEMS mission numbers and times in the COVID-affected region of Southwest Saxony (SWS).

This was a retrospective analysis of PHEMS in SWS during lockdown periods and equal time spans in the previous and following years. Differences were tested for statistical significance using the chi-squared test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA).

The total number of missions showed a substantial drop during the first (-16.6%) and the second (-4.5%) lockdown period compared with the previous year. Next-year periods showed a recovery that was nearly equivalent to the starting point. The first lockdown period was not associated with longer overall mission times. The minutes spent at the scene differed significantly between the first lockdown period (31.1 ± 3.52 min), previous year (28.4 ± 4.84 min), and follow-up period (31.8 ± 0.98 min). During the second lockdown, the overall mission times (71.6 ± 2.91 min), response times in minutes (8.9 ± 0.49 min), and minutes spent at the scene (31.4 ± 2.99 min) were significantly longer. The minutes spent at the scene (32.3 ± 18.68 min) and the overall mission time (69.6 ± 1.92 min) remained significantly longer during the control period.

Our data confirm the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on German PHEMS. It can be concluded that nationwide lockdown measures led to lasting effects regarding a reduction in the total mission number, transport-on-site released-ratio, and emergency time intervals in the following year, without lockdown restrictions. The lasting effects on the transport-on-site released-ratio and emergency time intervals call for a re-evaluation of the delivery of emergency services during pandemics. These findings can inform future policy decisions and resource allocations to ensure optimal emergency medical services.