NEW YORK, NY December 21, 2006 —The proposed closure of five New York City hospitals could crowd nearby emergency rooms that remain open and delay ambulance runs. That’s according to a new report by comptroller William Thompson.

REPORTER: Last month, a panel called for dozens of mergers and closures around the state. Thompson says government should help facilities absorb the added burden.

THOMPSON: Is there going to be additional time added to downtime for those ambulances? Maybe we need to purchase additional ambulances. It might lead to the increase of EMS workers that need to be hired.

REPORTER: Thompson said the hospital closure commission looked too much at the economics of healthcare and not enough on the needs of communities. A spokesperson for the commission says it exhaustively examined what impact closing and merging facilities would have before making recommendations. The proposals are scheduled to take effect next year, buy how exactly they will be implemented by incoming Governor Eliot Spitzer remains to be seen.