LAS VEGAS (AP) — A newspaper found that dispatch confusion diverted least two people injured in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history away from the region's only top-level trauma center to other Las Vegas hospitals.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that a Clark County dispatcher told emergency responders about an hour after gunfire stopped late Oct. 1 that University Medical Center was completely out of beds, even though the trauma center remained open.
It took at least 15 minutes to correct the message, but confusion lasted more than an hour.
The error was considered the most significant in the execution of a first responder emergency protocol invoked after a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds more.
Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell says someone misconstrued an internal UMC disaster alert to mean the hospital was full.