Nursing union claims 80-year-old man went into cardiac arrest after four-hour ramping ordeal at Flinders

An elderly man is in a critical condition after going into cardiac arrest following a four-hour wait in an ambulance at Flinders, the nursing union claims.

An 80-year-old man has been left in a critical condition following a heart attack that happened after he was ramped at Flinders Medical Centre for four hours, the nurses’ union has claimed.

According to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, the man was taken to Flinders on Monday night with abdominal pain and was ramped for four hours, suffering a cardiac arrest in the ambulance, before he was taken into the emergency department.

An ultrasound found he had a life-threatening ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm.

The man reportedly had another two cardiac arrests on the operating table and is in a critical condition in intensive care.

Ambulance ramping. Picture supplied by Phil Palmer of Ambulance Employees Association

Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation SA branch secretary Elizabeth Dabars said the “tragedy” was “entirely preventable”.

“He needed urgent emergency treatment and instead he was left to wait in an ambulance for so long,” Ms Dabars said.

“The overcrowding at our emergency departments is at unprecedented dangerous levels. It is now a threat not only to people’s wellbeing but their very lives.”

She said the State Government would be left with “blood on their hands” if ramping was not fixed.

The South Australian Ambulance Service has been contacted for comment.

[e-mail]