Rural doctors fear patients may die while waiting for retrieval services as demand increases due to coronavirus pandemic

Country patients may die while waiting for a transfer to a city hospital as coronavirus fuels demand for retrieval services, as the government looks to streamline services to deal with the issue.

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Seriously ill or injured country patients may die waiting for a retrieval to a city intensive care unit as coronavirus threatens to overwhelm retrieval services, the Rural Doctors Association of Australia warns.

SA Ambulance Service’s MedSTAR retrieval service is already facing changes to deal with looming demand.

Rural Doctors Association of Australia president Dr John Hall said retrieval capacity needs to be drastically increased to deal with the transfer of infectious and seriously ill patients.

“Looking at the numbers that are coming in from overseas, we know we are going to need two to three times the retrieval capacity currently available,” Dr Hall said.

“With the expected surge in seriously unwell COVID-19 cases presenting in rural areas, we are concerned there will be significant delays in retrieval, leaving these patients ventilated for days in rural hospitals that are not equipped or staffed for this type of care.

Medstar team pilot Daniel O'Donnell pilot, paramedic John Hall, SAAS MedSTAR clinical director Andrew Pearce, nursing director Dan Martin, paramedic Steve Tebbett and crewman Ben McNeil celebrated MedSTAR Rescue and Retrieval Service’s 10-year anniversary in their new state of the art headquarters at Adelaide Airport in February last year. Picture: Mark Brake

“It is entirely possible we will see coronavirus patients dying while waiting for transfer.

“We also need to ensure that beds are made available in regional and city hospitals to admit rural patients.”

Health and Wellbeing Minister Stephen Wade said “significant discussions” are underway to manage retrievals as COVID fuels demand.

“One of the particular goals being pursued is to have more centralised co-ordination of retrievals and bed placements – one of the of the great frustrations of rural doctors and health professionals for many years has been the challenge from time to time of getting a bed,” he said.

“Particularly in the COVID environment, we want to improve our performance there.”

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A MedSTAR helicopter in action near Aldinga Beach last year. Picture: Leon Bignell

The Defence Force is also on standby to provide planes and helicopters to evacuate COVID-19 patients from small rural hospitals if the State Government requests support.

The Rural Doctors Association of Australia asked for the Defence Force and private aircraft operators to be put on standby to offer additional support if needed to get rural patients to ventilators in city hospitals.

A spokeswoman for Defence Minister Senator Linda Reynolds previously said: “Defence stands ready to assist if requested by state and territories. Anything is on the cards.”

Association chief executive Peta Rutherford welcomed the move, saying it is important Defence was put on standby now.

She noted it can take three to four days to get access to Defence aircraft for medevacs and this would be too long for a COVID-19 emergency patient needing city hospital care.