May 18, 2022

Perth grandmother dies after waiting two and half hours for an ambulance

JAKOB HC HERO TEMPLATE - 2022-05-18T102929.765

An 80-year-old woman from Perth has died after waiting two and a half hours for the arrival of an ambulance to her Ashby home.

Grandmother Georgina Wild was found lifeless on her couch with her television still on two and half hours after calling triple-0 for help and reporting that she was experiencing chest pains.

A report by The West Australian revealed that Ms Wild first called for an ambulance at 2.30 am on Sunday morning, before receiving a call from the St John WA call centre 30 minutes later and being informed that there were no ambulances available.

Sadly, Ms Wild did not pick up the next phone call that she received from the St John WA call centre, and it was confirmed that she had died of a heart attack while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

A spokesperson from St John WA issued an apology to Ms Wild’s family and claimed that they would be “undertaking a clinical review of the case”.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan stated that waiting two hours for ambulances in an emergency situation was “clearly not acceptable” and claimed that St John WA’s workforce was down by 40% on the evening that Ms Wild died.

“There are opportunities for St John to use the critical worker definitions. They haven’t used them even though we have urged them to do so,” said the Premier.

“There is also opportunity under what’s called the business continuity plan for St John to request assistance, for instance by our DFES (Department of Fire and Emergency Services) personnel who are trained in first aid and those sorts of things, to drive ambulances with a qualified paramedic.

“At the point in time that this incident occurred they had not requested that.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.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

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Want to see a therapist but don’t know where to start? Here’s how to get a mental health plan

In such a stressful time, many people are experiencing poorer mental health, and some need additional support. However, our mental health system is complex and fragmented, so it can be challenging to find the care you need. Read More

The older stars that shone bright on Oscars night: Celebrating stories about ageing

Two of the standout winners of this year’s Academy Awards were 83-year-old Sir Anthony Hopkins – the oldest Oscar winner ever – for his portrayal of a man struggling in the early stages of dementia, and 73-year-old Yuh-Jung Youn for her performance of a Korean woman moving to Arkansas in search of the American dream. Not to mention Youn’s gentle teasing of Brad Pitt as she accepted her award! Read More

The most persistent question from stressed carers about the budget: “What about wages?”

The aged care minister has come under pressure for leaving the “endemic” problem of aged care wages out of the budget, during his opening remarks at ACSA’s National Summit today. Read More
Advertisement