South Fulton, Tenn.–Both Fulton County Dispatch and Ken-Tenn EMS have announced that due to local and area hospitals being full, they are experiencing long wait times for bed availability when ambulances arrive at the hospital with a patient.
Dispatch officials said, “This obviously impacts coverage in the county, as every service can only provide so many crews & ambulances. Keep this in mind if you have an emergency or feel the need to go to the hospital or doctor. We’re certain that other EMS stations in the area are facing the same circumstances.”
Ken-Tenn EMS posted a similar message to the public on its Facebook page: “Be aware that most of our local hospitals are full and we are experiencing long wait times for bed availability when unloading patients. Currently, both trucks are waiting to unload their patients at the ER with no estimated time to offload and return to service. One has been waiting an hour+. This leaves our county without coverage. Keep in mind this WILL impact wait times when calling for an ambulance or impact the decision on which hospital to transport patients to.
“The situation is beyond the control of the hospital or EMS staff caring for you. Please take this into consideration if you have a complaint that can be serviced by an urgent care center or primary care physician. We ask for patience and understanding from our community when dealing with long wait times as they are inevitable and beyond our control.”
Ken-Tenn EMS serves Fulton County and the cities of South Fulton, Tenn., Fulton and Hickman, Ky.