Hospital backlog leaves London, Middlesex without ambulances on the road

More than two dozen times this month paramedics have been so backlogged there wasn'ta single available ambulance on the road.

New figures from the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care reveal 29 Code Zeros between Jan. 1 and Jan. 25.

A Code Zero means there are no ambulances available to transport patients.

Usually, it means paramedics are tied up, waiting at area hospitals for patients to be admitted.

Ministry numbers also show there were 177 Code Critical instances in the same time period that's when there are only three ambulances available in all of London and Middlesex County.

A Code Critical sets into motion a series of events that is supposed to reduce hospital backlogs.

Middlesex-London EMS operates 25 ambulances within the city and the county. It responds to more than 50,000 calls for service every year.

To let paramedics and emergency room managers know about ambulance shortages, dispatchers must press a button that notifies those who need to know.

The health ministry says sometimes paramedics can leave patients in emergency rooms before they're actually admitted, leaving them in the care of a triage nurse.

The amount of time it takes to offload a patient in hospital has been growing since 2015, EMS numbers show.