Patients no longer forced to wait outside Lyell McEwin Hospital’s emergency department in the cold

Health Minister Chris Picton said people may still need to wait in the cold outside Adelaide hospitals if emergency departments are overwhelmed.

The state’s health Minister has not ruled out people waiting in the cold outside Adelaide emergency departments.

Chris Picton said on Tuesday morning the policy which saw patients including one aged 92, wait in the cold for more than two hours while attempting to return a rapid antigen test had been changed.

But he said at times when emergency departments were overwhelmed with patients some may be sent outside.

“In times where there may be an extreme surge in patients there may have to be some people waiting outside,” Mr Picton told ABC Radio Adelaide on Tuesday.

“I think it would be a very rare situation that would have to happen, but if it does have to happen, we now have in place heating and amenities and shelter for people … but I’m hoping that doesn’t need to happen.”

The state’s opposition this morning is demanding the report following the investigation into why patients were left freezing outside the Lyell McEwin’s ED be made public.

South Australian Liberal health spokeswoman Ashton Hurn said on Tuesday the public has a right to know the findings of the investigation when they come to light.

The investigation was announced by Premier Peter Malinauskas on Monday should also investigate why two individuals were told ambulances were not available, Ms Hurn said.

As revealed by advertiser.com.au, Maureen Wortley, 92, and a diabetic father with Covid-19 were among those outside the Lyell McEwin's emergency department for more than two hours on Mother’s Day.

“South Australians with elderly or vulnerable family members have every right to be concerned by this news,” Ms Hurn said.

“News of ramping appears to have turned off like a tap since the state election, with this incident only coming to light after the family made a complaint on Peter Malinauskas’ own Facebook page.”

Mrs Wortley – a mother of four with 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, and whose nephew is Labor upper house MP Russell Wortley – was last night stable in hospital.

Her family was appalled by her treatment but said the retired seamstress and respected churchgoer was now being “treated like royalty”.

After a public backlash on Monday, hospital bosses apologised for a “miscommunication” in Mrs Wortley’s case amid an overhaul of rules and urgent upgrades to facilities including more heating.

Patients had been required to wait outside the hospital until they had a negative Covid test.

But on Monday, Health Minister Chris Picton said that policy had been scrapped and patients would be able to wait for their results inside the hospital.

Premier Peter Malinauskas criticised as a “substantial stuff up”.

SA Health will open a new Lyell McEwin emergency ward next month but until then the outdoor area will only be used in extreme “demand surges”.

Patients wait outside in the cold at the Lyell McEwin Hospital on Mother’s Day. Picture: supplied

At 6.30pm on Monday at the Elizabeth Vale hospital, visitor Alana Fazlic, 21, was asked to leave the ED – after waiting an hour with her mum – to limit overcrowding.

“The nurses and doctors seem really stressed out and I feel bad for them because they do seem really under staffed,” said the Fairview Park resident. “They definitely need more funding for sure.”

Mr Malinauskas, who ordered a “thorough investigation”, said the treatment of Mrs Wortley was unacceptable. Speaking at Flinders Medical Centre with federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese, the Premier admitted the original testing policy didn’t make sense.

“So tragically … we saw someone not getting the sort of care any Australian with a degree of compassion would want to see or certainly expect,” he said.

SA Health tests all Adelaide patients for Covid before entering an ED to stop transmission, except for the Royal Adelaide Hospital, which has updated rooms to separate patients.

Maureen Wortley was forced to sit outside the Lyell McEwin Hospital. Picture: supplied by family

Scott Heida waited more than two hours outside the Lyell McEwin Hospital on Sunday night. Picture: Supplied

Mrs Wortley fell in her northern suburbs home of 30 years at 6pm on Sunday, shortly before a family Mother’s Day dinner with 20 relatives.

Her son, Craig Csongrady, and daughter Gail drove her to the hospital about an hour later, after paramedics assessed her as a low priority who would arrive sooner if she took herself to the ED.

Mr Csongrady was shocked at watching his mother wait in the cold without a blanket or wheelchair for more than two hours.

Scott Heida, a 33-year-old gas fitter from Munno Para, was dehydrated and had asthma, Covid, a lung illness and diabetes complications when he presented to the Lyell McEwin on Sunday night. A relative took him to hospital after being told an ambulance was not available. Once there, Mr Heida was forced to lie outside on concrete due to fatigue.

‘There was no compassion or communication and I was struggling the whole time,” Mr Heida said.

Dr Penny Conor, emergency medicine specialist and the current divisional director of critical care in the Northern Adelaide Health Network. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

Northern Adelaide Health Network critical care director Dr Penny Conor “apologised unreservedly” to Mrs Wortley. She said an average wait for RAT results was 20 minutes but the outdoor screening tent stopped any Covid infectious cases interacting with vulnerable patients.

“I wouldn’t describe it as a substantial stuff up, but we could’ve done better,” she said. An SA Ambulance spokeswoman said there were “no staff shortages” and Mrs Wortley’s case was assessed as its lowest emergency.