Improving Ambulance Respose Times In Buffalo | News

BUFFALO, NY - When you call for an ambulance you expect them to show in a reasonable amount of time. Recently, 2 On your Side investigated slow response times for ambulances in the city of Buffalo for some types of emergency calls.

On Friday, Rural Metro leaders met with three Buffalo Common Council members at their office to show just how much their service has improved.

Rural Metro's Jay Smith told 2 On Your Side as he did in our earlier investigation that average response time was about 7 minutes and 7 seconds per call last year. That's better than the national average of just under 9-minutes to reach patients in cardiac arrest.

The current contract between Rural Metro and the city of Buffalo expires at the end of the month, so Rural Metro is trying to re-establish confidence in their work.

"We're very proud of the fact that patient care is delivered in a manner that's very progressive and innovative and the focus is getting the right level of care to the right call," said Smith.

Buffalo Councilman David Francyk said, I'm very happy that they're able to do this for us, but It doesn't take away the necessity to ask them very tough questions when it comes to renewal of the company because human lives are at stake."

Francyk's questions included if the ambulance service has the adequate staff to meet the needs of the community, and if calls are taken in the priority of their importance.