Family’s plea after man died waiting for ambulance

The heartbroken family and friends of a Surrey Hills man who died alone on the floor of his home after waiting hours for an ambulance say they have been “failed by the system”.

Heartbroken friends and family of a man who died after waiting four hours for an ambulance to arrive say they have been “failed by the system”.

Phillip Burne, 69, died alone on the floor of his Surrey Hills home after suffering a fall.

Frantic neighbours called triple-0 about 2am on Sunday when they heard him crying out for help, but high levels of sick leave among paramedics meant an ambulance didn’t arrive until 6am.

By then, it was too late.

His niece said she felt failed by the system.

“He would’ve been cold and alone, probably scared and now he’s gone,” she told 7NEWS.

“There’s been nothing for Uncle Phil – no apology, no recognition.

“They can’t bring him back, I understand that, but put things in place so this doesn’t happen to other families.

“He was so independent, he never asked for help and when he (did), he never got it.”

Philip Burne died after waiting more than four hours for an ambulance on Sunday night. Picture: 9News

Mr Burne had been in hospital with a blocked artery two weeks before his death, but was discharged and told to wait for surgery.

His friends at the Ringwood RSL, where he was a regular, said his death had been an “awful” tragedy.

“It’s pretty awful that someone lies in a house on the floor and has to wait four hours for an ambulance and have no one to call,” David Jamieson said told 9News.

“For the older cohort, they rely on the emergency services to ensure their health needs are met. When it fails it can be catastrophic, as it was in this case.

“It’s really sad and frankly, we’ve all got to do better.”

Ambulance Victoria has launched a review into Mr Burne’s death, which occurred while at least 50 crews were off the roads due to a spike in sick leave, according to the paramedics’ union.

Ambulance Victoria has launched a review into Mr Burne’s death.

Ambulance Victoria acting chief executive Danielle North said she could not comment on Mr Burne’s case as the matter was before the coroner.

“The demand is high at the moment but we prioritise our care to the sickest and most vulnerable patients in the community,” she said.

“We certainly experienced an increase in personal leave over the course of the weekend, it was unpredictable, the level we received.”

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill called for Ambulance Victoria and the state government to explain why a code orange – which would activated extra measures to help paramedics – hadn’t been alerted.

“They could have put out a code orange or code red response, which sort of activates some additional resourcing,” he said.

“It gives them (crews) the ability to rapidly call in additional crews. It gives them the ability to message the hospitals to say, we’re in a very serious situation.

“The situation last night would have been much worse had it not been for a few dozen paramedics coming in on their days off to fill shifts on overtime.”

Originally published as Family’s plea after man died waiting for ambulance