HONOLULU — A paramedic shortage led to an unstaffed ambulance Saturday at midnight to Sunday at 8 a.m., but officials say the recent switch to 12 hours shifts is still effective.
The city recently converted to 12-hour shifts three to four days a week in an effort to eliminate mandatory overtime that had many working 16-hour days. Although there was a gap in coverage at the Kuakini Medical Center, EMS spokesperson Shayne Enright said the city was able to cover the area with other ambulances, Hawaii News Now reports.
“We didn’t have a high volume of 911 calls fortunately so we didn’t see any impact,” Enright said.
In the past a personnel shortage has been due to sick leave, but in this case vacation played a part, he said.
“It has not happened since the change to the new 12 hour schedule,” Enright said. “But even with the 12 hour schedule we still have vacancies.”
With a total of 25 vacancies, 13 new EMTs are soon starting, and another recruiting class is scheduled for next month.
“We’re hopeful it’s not going to happen again,” Enright said. “But if it does we will have to rearrange units and we also have AMR that can come in and cover as a contingency plan.”