Whistleblower says 188 calls to Queensland Ambulance Service over weekend left pending

More than 180 calls to the Queensland Ambulance Service were left “pending” over the weekend, a whistleblower has claimed.

Ambulance ramping at the PA Hospital (Princess Alexandra Hospital) Woolloongabba. Picture: David Clark

More than 180 calls to the Queensland Ambulance Service were left pending over the weekend, a whistleblower has claimed.

The ambulance insider said there were 188 calls to the QAS that were sourced and then unanswered, meaning they were pending until eventually being cleared. These jobs had a wait time of longer than half an hour.

The insider claimed 155 jobs were still outstanding on Monday morning and that people who were reporting chest pains had been told to get themselves to the nearest hospital.

Responding to the allegation that jobs were left pending, Health Minister Tim Nicholls told Peter Fegan on 4BC Breakfast that the QAS had cancelled non-essential training and offered overtime to the workforce in a bid to meet the surge in call outs.

“Friday and Saturday were big days, there was a big surge of people,” Mr Nicholls said.

“No, it’s not good enough having people there for that long and that’s why we’re working hard to make sure that we’ve got the workforce available to deliver it, that we’re resourcing things properly and that we’re also dealing with that ambulance ramping rate.

“Ambulances are waiting too long after they get to a hospital, after they’ve discharged their patient, to get back onto the road and it’s a mighty task.”

Nambour Hospital Emergency ambulance bays. Photo: Nicola Brander/Sunshine Coast Daily.

While Mr Nicholls said there had been improvements to the ambulance ramping rate, he conceded there was work to do to improve ambulance ramping and responses.

“It’s been an issue for many years now, and that’s why we’re, you know, resolutely focused on the ramping rate and getting that down,” he said.

“We’ve had some progress there the last quarterly figures, or the last monthly figures, I should say that we released showed we got that down by 4 per cent more.

“There is work to do, obviously, and also ensuring that people who are calling an ambulance are not waiting longer in the community than they should.”

Responding to the suggestion that some members of the public with chest pains were told to get themselves to hospital, Mr Nicholls said that all patients were managed and prioritised by the health service depending on the severity of their condition.

“We manage it in a number of ways, but the most critical patients, the 1As, the lights and sirens, are absolutely prioritised,” he said.

“So if you’re a 1A patient lights and sirens, immediate priority, immediate dispatch, but if you’re a lesser priority, the clinical hub will monitor that, and that will be the doctors and nurses in the clinical hub, and if the position of the patient worsens, then they are elevated up the priority list.

“Sometimes they will say, if you can get yourself to the emergency department, if someone, if a relative’s at home, someone can drive you there, make sure they do that.

“As I say, not good enough, we need to work harder at it.”

A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman on Tuesday said there was a surge of calls for people not requiring a Code 1A response over the weekend.

“From Friday night through to Saturday, the QAS did experience a period of surge where a number of patients not requiring a Code 1A response waited for an ambulance,” the spokesman said.

“For context, the average number of Triple Zero (000) calls during March is 3300, with Friday experiencing a surge of over 3700 (+400).

“During this time, clinical oversight was provided by the Clinical Hub who provided safe advice to patients. Should the condition of the patient change while waiting for an ambulance, the clinician will upgrade the priority of the request.”

The spokesman added that QAS will always prioritise people who make Triple Zero calls.

“The QAS will always provide services to the community who access Triple Zero (000),” the spokesman added.

“Patients who are critically unwell are classified as a Code 1A, and an ambulance is dispatched as a priority.

“For patients who don’t have a critical injury or illness, responses will be prioritised according to their clinical condition.

“Should an ambulance dispatch be required, and the health system is experiencing surge, patients are kept safe utilising the QAS Clinical Hub.

“The Clinical Hub is a multi-disciplinary team of health professionals that provide virtual care to patients who have accessed Triple Zero (000).

“This team provide high level clinical advice and treatment as required, and also provide alternative pathways to suitable patients who may be better treated through other means than an emergency department.”

The QAS encourages the community to continue to call Triple Zero (000) in an emergency.

For non-urgent concerns, 13 HEALTH is available 24 hours a day for advice.