Ambulance wait times slammed as grandmother dies after 7-hour wait

A review is underway into how a NSW grandmother was forced to wait 7 hours for paramedics and died soon after, with loved ones slamming the state government over ambulance wait times.

Loved ones of a grandmother who died after waiting seven hours for paramedics have blasted the state government, saying, ‘you could not treat a dog like this”.

The April 29 death of Lake Macquarie woman Margaret Cawthorne, 69, has drawn an apology to the family and sparked an official investigation by NSW Ambulance.

Ms Cawthorne’s friend Neil Ellis called an ambulance at 11.20am after she complained of abdominal pains.

Mr Ellis claims he had called the ambulance four times from the property in ­Toronto.

“During the day I could see the changes in Margaret and that she was getting the death rattles,” he said.

Margaret Cawthorne, left, with friend Neil Ellis. Picture: Supplied

“If I had known it was going to take so long I would have driven her to hospital.

“Animals should not die like that. It’s very upsetting and I am sitting here crying about it.

“When the ambulance came they said ‘I am sorry it has taken so long’.”

Mr Ellis claims he was told at 2pm that they were next in line for the ambulance to ­arrive at 2pm.

At 6pm he called again and was advised that the ambulance was around the corner and that they apologised for the delay. The ambulance ­arrived at 6.45pm.

Margaret was admitted into Belmont Hospital at 7.45pm and died about 10 minutes later. The coroner report ­stated that heart failure was the cause of death.

Margaret’s only daughter Faye said her mother had multiple health issues and one month prior was hospitalised with stomach septicaemia.

Margaret died just 10 minutes after arriving at Belmont Hospital. Picture: Jeremy Piper

“We want to see this story out there so others don’t have to go through the same thing,” the mother of two said.

“The outcome could have been very different if they had responded quicker. She would have been in agonising pain.

“In this country you just shouldn’t have people being left without treatment.”

Faye said health authorities have called her to apologise and to say there will be an ­official investigation.

The Bureau of Health ­Information’s quarterly report for October to December 2021 revealed for priority cases, the median call to ambulance ­arrival time increased from 12.2 minutes the year prior to 14.1 minutes.

Shadow health minister Ryan Park said “this is another shocking example of a health system at breaking point”.

“When people call triple-0 they expect a paramedic to be on the way but unfortunately that’s not what is happening across many communities in NSW,” he said.

Shadow health minsiter Ryan Park.

“Time and time again we are hearing about desperate family members having to make heartbreaking decisions about whether they should wait in the hope that an ambulance will arrive or take the person to hospital on their own.

“That’s not fair on patients and it’s not fair on our hardworking paramedics.”

A NSW Ambulance spokesman said: “NSW Ambulance extends its sincere condolences to the family during this difficult time and acknowledges the distress this experience has caused. A review of the ­incident is being undertaken.

“The findings, and any recommendations will be provided to the family at the conclusion of the review process.”