Patient and operational characteristics for emergency medical services, and emergency departments and urgent care centres in the control and COVID-19 periods
| Characteristic | Period;* no. (%) of patients† | Standardized mean difference‡ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | COVID-19 | ||
| Emergency medical services | |||
| No. of patients | 188 508 | 123 502 | |
| Sex | 0.018 | ||
| Male | 74 770 (39.7) | 47 767 (38.7) | |
| Female | 77 555 (41.1) | 47 808 (38.7) | |
| Missing | 36 183 (19.2) | 27 927 (22.6) | |
| Age, median (IQR), yr | 57.0 (34.0–77.0) | 55.0 (34.0–75.0) | 0.035 |
| Dispatch priority | 0.050 | ||
| Omega (lowest) | 1216 (0.6) | 749 (0.6) | |
| Alpha | 46 454 (24.6) | 30 649 (24.8) | |
| Bravo | 37 297 (19.8) | 22 367 (18.1) | |
| Charlie | 46 901 (24.9) | 32 655 (26.4) | |
| Delta | 51 610 (27.4) | 33 711 (27.3) | |
| Echo (highest) | 4706 (2.5) | 3112 (2.5) | |
| None | 324 (0.2) | 259 (0.2) | |
| Response time, median (IQR), min | 9.0 (6.0–12.0) | 8.0 (5.9–12.0) | 0.084 |
| Scene time, median (IQR), min | 23.0 (17.0–30.0) | 25.8 (19.0–33.7) | 0.233 |
| Total prehospital time, median (IQR), min | 43.0 (20.0–59.0) | 49.9 (33.0–65.3) | 0.214 |
| Transport lights/siren | 8337 (7.2) (n = 115 807) | 5318 (7.8) (n = 68 274) | 0.022 |
| Disposition | 0.128 | ||
| Release | 71 949 (38.2) | 54 393 (44.0) | |
| Transported | 115 807 (61.4) | 68 274 (55.3) | |
| Dead on scene | 752 (0.4) | 835 (0.7) | |
| Emergency department/urgent care centre | |||
| No. of patients | 567 667 | 247 337 | |
| Sex | 0.004 | ||
| Female | 292 104 (51.5) | 126 763 (51.2) | |
| Male | 275 546 (48.5) | 120 564 (48.7) | |
| Not specified | 17 (0.0) | 10 (0.0) | |
| Age, median (IQR), yr | 36.0 (18.0–57.0) | 37.0 (21.0–58.0) | 0.051 |
| Type of centre | 0.053 | ||
| Adult emergency department | 362 624 (63.9) | 164 072 (66.3) | |
| Pediatric emergency department | 89 801 (15.8) | 35 722 (14.4) | |
| Urgent care | 115 242 (20.3) | 47 543 (19.2) | |
| Canadian Triage Acuity Scale level | 0.066 | ||
| 1 (highest) | 6003 (1.1) | 3416 (1.4) | |
| 2 | 173 018 (30.5) | 79 674 (32.2) | |
| 3 | 220 071 (38.8) | 97 273 (39.3) | |
| 4 | 136 681 (24.1) | 54 058 (21.9) | |
| 5 (lowest) | 31 888 (5.6) | 12 915 (5.2) | |
| Missing | 6 (0.0) | 1 (0.0) | |
| Waiting time, median (IQR), min | 1.4 (0.8–2.4) | 1.3 (0.6–2.3) | 0.026 |
| Physician time, median (IQR), min | 1.6 (0.6–3.4) | 1.8 (0.7–3.6) | 0.044 |
| Boarding time, median (IQR), min | 2.3 (1.3–3.9) | 2.2 (1.3–3.8) | 0.052 |
| Disposition | 0.039 | ||
| Admitted to hospital | 69 922 (12.3) | 33 565 (13.6) | |
| Admitted to intensive care unit | 2551 (0.4) | 1250 (0.5) | |
| Discharged | 494 923 (87.2) | 212 391 (85.9) | |
| Died | 271 (0.05) | 131 (0.05) | |