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To the editor:
After he has studied the situation, hopefully NYC residents will hear more about mayoral candidate Jim Walden's strategies for bolstering the FDNY's Bureau of Emergency Medical Services with the necessary staffing and equipment to reduce 911 response times.
In Queens last month, for example, there were 397 calls to 911 for emergency assistance for Segment 1 medical situations, according to city data. These include cardiac arrest and choking. Of those, 254 patients waited more than 10 minutes for paramedics in an Advanced Life Support ambulance to arrive, to begin pre-hospital emergency medical treatment, and eventual transport to a hospital emergency room.
On average, in Queens fire trucks responded to the combined number of life threatening medical emergencies (3,188) in 9 minutes, 8 seconds, while fire trucks are reported to have responded to structural and non-structural fires in under 6 minutes.
Hopefully New Yorkers won't have to wait until the next mayoral election to see a quicker response time to all life-threatening medical emergencies by both FDNY bureaus. It is well known that the survival rate for patients with an initially shockable heart rhythm decreases 10 percent for every minute delay in defibrillation.
Helen Northmore
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