Ambulance ramping in Adelaide caused at least two deaths last year, Senate hearing told
TWO South Australians died last year because ambulances were “ramping” outside overcrowded hospitals and unavailable to respond to urgent cases, a Senate committee has heard.
TWO South Australians died last year because ambulances were “ramping” outside overcrowded hospitals and unavailable to respond to urgent cases, a Senate committee has heard.
On Wednesday — as Adelaide’s emergency departments again struggled to cope with demand — Ambulance Employees Association state secretary Phil Palmer made a “cry for help” at a Senate committee hearing into the mental health of emergency service workers.
Mr Palmer said ramping during last winter’s flu season caused stress to paramedics and triple-0 respondents who knew they could not respond to priority one cases.
“We had occasions where ambulances were ramped outside of hospitals, including and especially outside the new Royal Adelaide, and there was no an ambulance available to respond to cases on the road, and so our members on the road it becomes a stresser for them having to drive under emergency conditions to further and further distances,” Mr Palmer told the committee.
“Last year we assert there were at least two deaths because there were 20-minute plus response times to what should have been an eight minute response time.
“Now the argument could be that it was not certain the response time was the cause or death or not but my answer to that is simply if you take 23 minutes to get to a cardiac arrest if it didn’t this time it will next time.”
In the hearing, Senator Rex Patrick sought to clarify the circumstances surround the two deaths, asking: “You were suggesting that a couple of people have died as a result of the availability of ambulances during ramping?”
“Correct,” Mr Palmer replied.
Ambulances were ramping across Adelaide immediately after the committee hearing — at 4pm on Wednesday the total metropolitan ED capacity of 294 beds had been reached, with another 136 patients waiting or arriving.
Hospitals running above capacity included Flinders Medical Centre where ED doctors had commenced treating 78 patients in the 53-capacity ED, and The Queen Elizabeth Hospital where 37 patients were being treated in the 31-capacity ED.
Those crammed in clogged EDs across the city included 69 patients who had been treated but were waiting for a ward bed — five had been waiting for more than 24 hours.
Mr Palmer said ramping was not the sole cause of stress among paramedics stating more staff were needed to give respite to workers.
He said the association receives “distress messages” from communications staff about resource shortages, ramping and high work loads, who say “they just don’t know where they are going to get the next ambulance from”.
“We are desperate and we are very concerned about our members wellbeing,” Mr Palmer said.
“We need a lot more staff and that is where the reluctance comes in because its about money.”
SA Senator Rex Patrick said emergency workers were “doing the best they can but they are constrained in their resources and that is a failure of state government”.
A SA Health spokeswoman said the health and wellbeing of our patients and ambulance staff was its priority but it was unable to comment on the cases mentioned as they are “before the Coroner”.
“Our hospitals and Ambulance Service work together to ensure those patients who need urgent care are seen as soon as possible, and over the last 18 months, an additional 160 full-time paramedics have been employed by SA Ambulance Service to improve response times,” she said.
“We always encourage our staff to raise any concerns they may have and a range of services are available for anyone who requires additional support.”