Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the prehospital care system for sick or
injured patients in Thailand.
Objective: to assess how the pandemic influenced operation times within the emergency medical
service (EMS) system at Maharaj Nakorn Chiangmai Hospital.
Methodology: a retrospective study, analyzing emergency response records from April to September
in 2022 to 2024, comparing EMS operations before and during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Study Results: Prehospital care provision during the pre-pandemic, the initial outbreak, and the
outbreak periods, there were 270, 255, and 353 EMS cases, respectively. In the case of emergency dispatch
triage patients (red code), there was a substantial increase in the proportion of cases assigned to this
group during these periods (40.4%, 62.4%, and 66.6%, respectively). The EMS operation times exhibited
statistically significant increases, with increments of 71, 87, and 167.5 seconds for turnout time (p < 0.001);
6, 7, and 9 minutes for response time (p < 0.001); and 5, 5, and 6 minutes for back time (p = 0.004),
respectively. Nevertheless, no significant differences were detected in scene time across the three phases.
Conclusion: the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected operation times in the
EMS system. Ensuring the readiness of response teams and implementing regulation on prehospital
procedures as necessary would effectively reduce response times and enhance prehospital patient care.
