Netherlands needs more ambulances for emergency care in 2022, says RIVM

The RIVM National Institute for Public Health and Environment has calculated that the Netherlands will need more ambulances in service next year, compared to 2021. This rise should be most visible on weekday evenings where it’s expected that 13 more ambulances will be needed.

Currently, 642 ambulances are used during day time hours during the working week, which would bump up to 652 in 2022. Nevertheless, more ambulance services are not needed at all hours of the day.

It is not anticipated during overnights from 12 a.m. through 8 a.m. A decrease of two ambulances is forecasted on weekday overnights, and a reduction of seven ambulances is predicted for early morning hours on Mondays. 

The RIVM evaluates the expected number of ambulances needed in the Netherlands on a yearly basis. Due to the coronavirus, 2020 was considered an inaccurate representation of usual ambulance rates. The RIVM recalibrated their data to make a prediction of what is needed in 2023 when determining regional budgets for healthcare.

The institute also pointed out that providing Covid-19 protective equipment for paramedic use costs a great deal of time, and has led to increased response times as a result. The target response time is to reach 95% of the population within fifteen minutes.