Dec 06, 2023

Ambulance delays see older man die after falling on his walker

Untitled design - 2023-12-06T100458.277
A Spokesperson has said the hospital was not experiencing raming at the time of the triple-0 call. [Source: Facebook]

An older Queensland man who fell in his home has died due to paramedic delays, his family has said. 

On Saturday afternoon, the man fell for the second time in 24 hours in his Hervey Bay home, leaving him wedged on his walker. 

His older wife was unable to help her husband up from his walker and rang triple-0 three times, telling them her husband couldn’t breathe.

It is believed the initial call was considered a “Code 2” — which can range from requiring an immediate urgent response to paramedics arriving within 60 minutes based on the scale of the injury – but was upgraded to “priority” status after the follow-up call.

The man’s death is the third in less than a month that has been linked to Queensland’s strained ambulance and health system. It follows the death of Cath Groom, 51, who died in early November after an ambulance failed to arrive at her Brisbane home despite multiple calls, and Wayne Irving, 67, who died in the back of an ambulance waiting for a hospital bed.

A Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) spokesperson said it has communicated with the man’s family and informed them that a full review of the weekend incident will be carried out with oversight from the organisation’s medical director. They also confirmed there were no ambulances ramped at Hervey Bay Hospital at the time of the call.

“The Queensland Ambulance Service’s thoughts and condolences go out to the gentleman’s family and friends,” they told The Courier Mail

A Spokeswoman for Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service (WBHHS) confirmed the Hervey Bay Emergency Department (ED) experienced an “extremely busy weekend”, with data showing 371 people presented to the ED between Friday and Sunday — 130 of whom came via ambulance.

The Spokeswoman also told The Courier Mail that WBHHS works with QAS on different strategies to get ambulances back in the community as soon as possible, especially for urgent cases, and that those strategies were implemented over the weekend.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. As a paramedic . The service will have a glossary of useful frases. We are sorry for the delay.
    All units were on cases. However there are many qas units available to respond to this gentleman. Please inquire . Please ask where are all units in the bay. Station officers. On call officers. Area directors. Ect Ect.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Australia has a new four-phase plan for a return to normality: Here’s what we know so far

The national cabinet has announced its four-phase plan to get Australia back to something resembling our pre-pandemic life. Do you think we’ll stay on track and things will go back to “normal” soon? Read More

Estia Health and Bupa work together to house storm-affected residents

Estia Health and Bupa Aged Care have shown just how important community support is after the two providers teamed up to help 16 residents who needed a temporary home while severe storm damage was repaired. Read More

Melbourne’s rental crisis breaking point: Older woman moves six times in nine years

The state of Australia’s rental market is letting down more and more vulnerable older people as application competition, rent prices and housing anxiety soars. Read More
Advertisement