Family of woman who died while waiting for ambulance says system hasn’t improved

The heartbroken family of a woman who died waiting for an ambulance says the state’s health system has not improved at all a year on.

Rebecca McQuilty and Cath Groom with their mum Lynn Johnson. Picture: Facebook.

The heartbroken family of a woman who died waiting for an ambulance says the state’s health system has not improved at all a year on.

Cath Groom called Triple 0 on November 18 last year - her 52nd birthday - after experiencing chest pains.

After waiting an hour and a half for the ambulance to arrive, the single mum fell asleep. She never woke up.

Her 19-year-old son Nicholas found her body the following morning.

On the first anniversary of her death earlier this week, Ms Groom’s family visited her grave and held a memorial service at Forest Lake – her favourite place to relax and exercise.

It was the first time Ms Groom’s mother, Lynn Johnson, was able to bring herself to visit her grave - the same plot Ms Groom’s late husband is buried in.

Rebecca McQuilty says she had a second bad experience with the Queensland Ambulance Service six months after her sister’s death. Picture: Liam Kidston

“The medical examiner told us that they found out there were two ambulances available when they got Catherine’s call, and they just didn’t turn up,” Ms Johnson said.

“If they had have turned up, Catherine would be with us today. And that just makes it so much harder.

“Everybody says it will get easier, but it doesn’t. It just gets harder and harder everyday.”

The Queensland Ambulance Service and then Health Minister Shannon Fentiman undertook a review into Ms Groom’s death but her sister, Rebecca McQuilty, said nothing seems to have changed. 

She had to call an ambulance for a friend six months after her sister’s death. 

“We needed an ambulance and they actually refused to send one because I wasn’t with the person at the time of the call,” she said. 

”But I knew they needed one because I had been on the phone with them before that and they were incoherent.

“It just brought back everything that I had to go through with my sister – it re-triggered everything. It is just unacceptable.”

Ms McQuilty said an ambulance was dispatched once she arrived and called from her friend’s house but when they arrived at hospital they were ramped for more than four hours. 

“It starts in the hospitals – we need more hands on deck because the more people that can be seen too quicker, then that allows ramping times to become quicker,” she explained. 

Rebecca McQuilty, sister of Brisbane mother Cath Groom who tragically passed away in bed waiting an hour and a half for an ambulance. Picture: Liam Kidston

“When is our government going to step up and show Queenslanders that our health is the priority – that when you call an ambulance, they will be there and you will be attended to”

Ms McQuilty said her nephew Nicholas had graduated from high school the day before his mum died. 

The poor kid has come from losing his father when he was one month old, and not ever growing up with or not ever knowing his dad, to losing his mum,” she said. 

“It would just be so hard to fathom how, the only person you relied on your entire life is not here anymore.

“We don’t really spend a lot of time with him, because mum and I are a reminder of her.”

Ms McQuilty said “Cath” was a beautiful soul. 

“Cath was one of those people who had a lot of best friends, because she was a best friend to so many people, and she just loved and supported so many of her friends. She was the best cheerleader,” Ms McQuilty said. 

“She would always be there to support them no matter what. 

“If people had made a bad decision or did the wrong thing, she wasn’t there to judge them. She was just there to help and support and love them, to get them through it.

“Everybody loved her in her office so they just closed the office down the day of the funeral. They’ve put up a memorial for her.” 

Cath Groom's family and friends held a memorial service on the first anniversary of her death at Forest Lake, her favourite place to exercise and relax.

Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said since taking on the role of Minister for Health his priority was to “cure the problems” in the health system. 

“I am visiting hospitals and ambulance services throughout the state to hear first-hand from our frontline health services providers and clinicians about what resources they to fix issues like Labor’s ambulance ramping of 44.7 per cent – the worst in Australia; more than 61,000 Queenslanders waiting for elective surgery and more than 28,000 Queenslanders waiting to see a specialist,” Mr Nicholls explained.

“The Government’s commitment and my priority is to provide real-time data to optimise surgery schedules and provide to our hospitals and to our ambulance services the resources they need to reduce ambulance ramping and to get patients in to see doctors sooner.”

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said while QAS had met with the family of Cath Groom and continued to send its condolences, they could not make further comment as it was a legal matter.