SA Liberals release ‘worst ever’ ramping video from Lyell McEwin Hospital

Every metro hospital was on a Code White by lunchtime yesterday – that’s 125 per cent of capacity. See the video of ambulances ramping and patients stuck waiting.

Ambulances ramped, hours of waiting times to see an emergency department doctor, hospitals full beyond capacity — Premier Peter Malinauskas’ election promise to “fix ramping” remains a work in progress.

The Opposition has released video of 13 ambulances ramped at Lyell McEwin Hospital on Monday while a similar number were waiting in the Royal Adelaide Hospital car park.

All metropolitan public hospitals were on Code White — EDs at more than 125 per cent of capacity — as the system ran out of beds, with 529 people being treated or waiting to be seen compared to citywide capacity of 312 at 3.30pm on Monday.

All EDs were again on Code White at lunchtime on Tuesday.

Officials said calls to triple 0 were 40 per cent higher than an average Monday.

Opposition leader David Speirs said paramedics told the Opposition ramping was the “worst we have ever seen” with latest figures showing 3721 hours lost to ramping in August, up from 3354 hours in July.

“Peter Malinauskas and Labor can try shift the goalposts all they like to hide record ramping and ED overcrowding, but the sick South Australians desperately waiting to get help know it’s never been this bad,” Mr Speirs said.

Liberal leader David Speirs. Picture: Roy VanDerVegt

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Mariuz

“The vision from Lyell McEwin Hospital and Royal Adelaide Hospital is shocking — I’ve never seen so many ambulances jam-packed together on the ramp.

“We can only imagine what our other major hospitals looked like during Monday’s Code White chaos.

“When Peter Malinauskas took a selfie at the RAH the day before the 2022 state election, ramping was apparently Labor’s number one priority.

“Now, Peter Malinauskas doesn’t mention the word ramping because he promised he’d fix it and it’s never been worse.”

Mr Malinauskas took to radio on Tuesday morning, telling FIVEaa more beds, doctors and nurses were coming, as well as paramedics and ambulance stations.

The Advertiser spoke to one family who made the decision to drive an elderly woman down from Mount Barker Hospital on Monday night “because there was chaos there” then faced an extended wait in the RAH’s temporary “tin shed” waiting room as renovation work is done at the $2.4bn hospital.

Footage released by the SA opposition shows a long queue of ambulances outside the Lyell McEwin Hospital in Adelaide on Tuesday. Picture: SA Liberals

Health Minister Chris Picton accused the former Liberal government of “neglecting health.”

“We are working hard to fix their mess — we are making inroads and getting on with the huge task of rebuilding the health system including opening new hospital beds and hiring hundreds more ambos, doctors and nurses,” he said.

Mr Picton seized on comments by Mr Speirs on radio saying increased spending was “probably wasted money” if it did not address the complex issues and “throwing money at the problem simply doesn’t always work.”

“David Speirs says building hundreds more hospital beds to improve healthcare for South Australians is ‘probably wasted money’ — we disagree,” Mr Picton said.

“We are reversing the cuts made to hospitals and staff under the former Liberal government.”