Adelaide woman tells of horror inside ER at Lyell McEwin Hospital
A SOUTH Australian woman has shared her harrowing ordeal at an Adelaide emergency department early this week, telling how she feared for her safety.
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PAULINE Allen says she feared for her safety during a harrowing and “hostile” ordeal at an Adelaide emergency department this week.
Mrs Allen described the atmosphere inside the overflowing Lyell McEwin Hospital on Monday night as “volatile” and “on the verge of violence”.
“It was a terrifying thing to be part of as people were getting stressed out and aggravated,” the 67-year-old said. “One lady was very distressed and calling out to her poor husband, ‘Get me out of this hell hole, take me home’. Others were begging for blankets as it was freezing in there.”
The MacDonald Park woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital about 8pm, suffering from a respiratory infection and severe asthma, after first trying to contact a locum.
“I did everything we are advised to do but was told I live in an area outside of where a locum will visit and so had no alternative but go to the hospital” Ms Allen said.
Mrs Allen estimates as many as 60 to 80 people were waiting to see a doctor but counted just three nurses.
“It really was a mess. There were people arriving with young children and they were being told they’d have to wait six hours — it was a terrible situation for any family to be in,” she said.
After several hours, and with tensions inside the health facility rising, left without being seen.
“I really was frightened and feared for my safety, thinking there would be a punch-up in there. I never want to be in a situation like that again.”
It’s been reported there were twice as many calls to 000 on Monday compared with the same day last year.
The Ambulance Employees Association has described it as a “day from hell”.
