• Lauri Laukkanen, Sanna Lahtinen, Janne Liisanantti, Timo Kaakinen, Ari Ehrola, and Lasse Raatiniemi.
• Research Group of Surgery, Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical Research Center of Oulu University, Oulu University Hospital, Oulu, Finland.
• Eur J Public Health. 2021 Oct 26; 31 (5): 1090-1095.

BackgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a major impact on health care services globally. Recent studies report that emergency departments have experienced a significant decline in the number of admitted patients in the early phase of the pandemic. To date, research regarding the influence of COVID-19 on emergency medical services (EMS) is limited. This study investigates a change in the number and characteristics of EMS missions in the early phase of the pandemic.MethodsAll EMS missions in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland (population 295 500) between 1 March to 30 June 2020 were screened and analyzed as the study group. A control group was composed from the EMS calls between the corresponding months in the years 2016-19.ResultsA total of 74 576 EMS missions were screened for the study. Within the first 2 months after the first COVID-19 cases in the study area, the decline in the number of EMS missions was 5.7-13% compared with the control group average. EMS time intervals (emergency call to dispatch, dispatch, en-route, on-scene and hospital handover) prolonged in the COVID-19 period. Dispatches concerning mental health problems increased most in the study period (+1.2%, P < 0.001). Only eleven confirmed COVID-19 infections were encountered by EMS in the study period.ConclusionOur findings suggest that the present COVID-19 pandemic and social restrictions lead to changes in the EMS usage. These preliminary findings emphasize the importance of developing new strategies and protocols in response to the oncoming pandemic waves.© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association.

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