Date: 201711
Local time of day: 1801-2400
Location: ZZZ.Airport, US
Light: Night
Aircraft: B737 Next Generation Undifferentiated
Operator: Air Carrier
Operating under: Part 121
Flight plan: IFR
Mission: Passenger
Flight phase: Descent
Airspace: Class B ZZZ
ATC / advisory: TRACON ZZZ
Reporter organization: Air Carrier
Reporter function: Pilot Not Flying; Captain
Reporter qualification: Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Human factors: Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown; Time Pressure
Anomaly: Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Detector: Person Flight Crew
When detected: In-flight
Result: Air Traffic Control Provided Assistance; Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; General Physical Injury / Incapacitation
Contributing factors: Staffing; Company Policy
Primary problem: Staffing

Narrative: Late notice Passenger medical issue on descent into ZZZ. Passenger had fainted. There was insufficient time to call Medical. Flight Attendants and a volunteer nurse took care of the patient with oxygen. We needed EMTs to meet us at the gate but could not coordinate with ZZZ Ops because their radio was not manned. Only one Agent was on duty for closing shift and he was in jetways catching arriving aircraft in sequence. Nobody was on the radio. On final approach I asked ZZZ Tower to scramble EMTs to our gate because Company Ops was not answering the radio. There was a slight delay at the gate waiting for the Agent to arrive from his previous jetway. Only upon our arrival at the gate was the Agent aware that we had a medical issue. There was a slight delay after jetway was piled up as we waited for EMTs to respond to Tower's request. If the radio had been manned I feel certain that jetway; Agent and EMTs would have been ready immediately upon our arrival at the gate. In this case a full aircraft load of Passengers could not deplane until after unnecessary delay waiting for Agent and EMT response. In this case; the medical condition was not life threatening so the delay in response was not critical. In a direr situation the delay could conceivably have been fatal and left us vulnerable to lawsuit. I have noticed this same undermanning of closing shift at other Stations across our system. I believe that Station Managers are deliberately undermanning closing shifts to save money. This often results in an inconvenience to our Passengers as we wait out for an empty gate because the Station is not properly manned to receive the aircraft. In my incident at ZZZ the undermanning resulted in a delay in medical response that constituted a violation of Flight Safety. I think the Stations should be properly staffed on the ramp and in the operations office from first departure until last landing. This includes somebody monitoring Station Ops radio. If only one Agent is on duty; he should have a hand-held VHF radio to monitor Station Ops frequency. This will allow him to change priorities and respond to incidents that might occur in aircraft waiting out for a gate. Summoning EMTs; Law Enforcement; or other agencies should be an immediate concern rather than waiting for an aircraft to pull into the gate to be informed of an incident.Fully staffing the operation during active flying operations is part of the cost of doing business.  Undermanning late night shifts to save a few dollars does not comply with the [Company] operational priorities:  Safety; Passenger Comfort & Convenience; Efficiently on Time.




Synopsis: B737 Captain reported a passenger was in need of medical attention and none was available when they arrived at the gate.