119 Ambulance Team Transports an Average of 4,443 Emergency Patients Daily... Increase in Severe Emergency Cases

Due to the Impact of COVID-19, the Number of Transferred Patients Decreased by 13% Last Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The number of dispatches and emergency patient transports by 119 ambulance teams, which had been increasing every year, decreased last year due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

According to the Fire Agency on the 13th, the total number of 119 ambulance dispatches last year was 2,766,069, with a total of 1,621,804 patients receiving emergency treatment and being transported to hospitals. This averages to 7,578 dispatches and 4,443 transports per day, representing a 36% increase (731,770 dispatches) in dispatches and an 11.6% increase (167,982 transports) in transported patients compared to 10 years ago.

However, due to the spread of COVID-19 last year, the number of dispatches decreased by 5.6% (163,925 dispatches) and the number of transported patients decreased by 12.8% (238,267 patients) compared to 2019.

Although the number of transported patients decreased, the number of transports for the four major severe emergency patients requiring rapid treatment?cardiac arrest, cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and severe trauma patients?increased by 4% (10,767 cases). In particular, transports for cerebrovascular disease patients increased by 26.8% (23,066 patients).

By city and province, Gyeonggi-do had the highest number of transported patients at 371,531, accounting for 23% of the total transports, followed by Seoul with 276,466 (17%), and Busan with 97,780 (6%).

Regarding ambulance usage rate per population, one out of every 32 South Koreans used an ambulance over the past year. By region, Jeju had the highest rate with one in every 20 people using an ambulance, while Ulsan had the lowest with one in every 40 people.

The average monthly number of transported patients was 135,150. By month, January, the winter season with a high incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, had the highest number at 152,576 (9.4%), followed by August, July, and June, which are months with increased outdoor activities such as vacations. Conversely, March had the lowest number of transports at 115,662 (7.1%).

By age group, patients in their 60s accounted for 267,720 (16.5%), those in their 50s for 262,090 (16.2%), and those in their 70s for 261,855 (16.1%), indicating a higher number of middle-aged and elderly patients. The Fire Agency explained that this is related to the increase in elderly patients with age-related diseases due to population aging.

By type of transported patients, disease patients were the most numerous at 1,030,321 (63.5%), followed by trauma patients such as those injured in accidents at 520,079 (32.1%), and non-trauma patients such as those intoxicated or poisoned at 40,799 (2.5%). Among trauma patients, the causes of accidents were falls at 37.3% (193,856), traffic accidents at 35% (182,131), lacerations at 7% (36,521), and injuries at 6.1% (31,733), in that order.

A Fire Agency official stated, "We plan to continuously recruit ambulance personnel and expand specialized training programs. Through institutionalizing the expansion of emergency treatment scope for ambulance crew members, we will strive to increase the survival rate of severe emergency patients."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.