A San Diego public hospital is diverting ambulances and patients to other facilities as it is dealing with a cyberattack this week. The medical center is the latest
New protocol allows saturated SD hospitals to temporarily turn away ambulances
and last updated 2020-12-16 21:19:02-05
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Following a surge in 911 calls from COVID-19 patients, the County of San Diego is now allowing hospitals to divert ambulances if their emergency rooms are already too full. The County reports that the new protocol was tested last weekend and proved to be successful.
The County reports that this new type of diversion goes above and beyond the routine ambulance diversion of only a subset of patients that hospitals use on a regular basis.
Hospitals across San Diego that are saturated are now allowed to request total ambulance diversion, meaning ambulances have to stop bringing in more patients. A letter posted this Tuesday from the County s Director of Emergency Medical Services details how the new protocol will help area hospitals recover from the rapid influx of patients.