An emergency has been declared in Windsor-Essex when it comes to delays faced by EMS in offloading patients at area hospitals.
Warden Gary McNamara and EMS Chief Bruce Krauter have called a news conference for 10:30 Monday morning in Tecumseh to discuss the ongoing situation.
The frequency and duration of offload delays have risen sharply since 2020, creating situations where ambulances are forced to idle for hours outside hospital emergency departments waiting for patients to be admitted.
According to a statement from the county, those delays can last longer than 12 hours.
Chief Krauter says last Wednesday, EMS moved into Code Red with just two ambulances available and then a Code Black with no ambulances for about three hours.