Bombshell ambo documents reveal consequence of long wait times
RTI documents give a heartbreaking insight into how an under pressure Queensland Ambulance Service is causing critically injured patients to endure lengthy wait times for paramedics.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Regional patients across the state have died waiting for Queensland Ambulance medics to arrive, with multiple heartbreaking tragedies revealed in a significant incident log captured under a right to information request.
However senior staff have defended lengthy wait periods and dismissed notions heavy workloads and staffing shortfalls contributed to patient deaths.
A 900 page document obtained by the Cairns Post and Townsville Bulletin details Queensland Ambulance significant incident reviews between 2021 and 2022.
The log is a database of fatal and serious incidents collated for the coroner or WorkCover Queensland if an investigation into a death is ever required.
Entries reveal cases where paramedics had trouble hearing instructions from the dispatcher, an ambulance that got sent in the wrong direction, delays getting rescue helicopters airborne and an elderly patient that was dead when medics arrived 54 minutes after the first call was made.
Among the most concerning incidents was a marathon wait of 2 hours and 40 minutes for an ambulance dispatched to Thorburn Court in Kelso, Townsville, on January 8 last year.
The job was not initially assigned with the duty operations supervisor due to high workload and no available crews.
By the time units arrived the woman was dead.
A review into the response found the Operations Centre Supervisor “potentially missed” comments regarding the patient not being conscious.
Another incident involved a woman who waited 90 minutes to be transferred from Mossman to Cairns Hospital and died 3.5 hours after the initial request for a transfer.
A review found there were “timely” and “appropriate” clinical interventions.
Queensland Ambulance service Assistant Commissioner Michelle Baxter said the service had experienced furloughing of staff due to the pandemic but “appropriate staffing levels” had been met.
“We do over 1.1m cases a year and every now and again a very small per cent of judgement calls are not 100 per cent right,” she said.
“We do have humans on the other end of the phone and they do make mistakes.
“As we respond to this massive state called Queensland, we have to be a very agile workforce to respond to the community’s needs.”
Asst Com Baxter said she had to review “many” triple-0 calls as part of her role.
“And I can very safely say that our emergency medical dispatchers do a fantastic job when they’re on a call to a scene, and they stay in contact until paramedics are on scene in most cases when it’s a critical case,” she said.
Asst Com Baxter dismissed a perception that QAS was understaffed – she stated the service received adequate funding from the state government and any boost in cash would not deliver an improved service.
“I truly believe it’s not about staffing,” she said.
Asst Com Baxter pointed to the more efficient delivery of emergency services in order to achieve improved patient outcomes.
“What it is about is having some alternative pathways for our patients to go into because not every patient needs to go to an ED,” she said.
“And one of the most wonderful initiatives that the Queensland Ambulance Service is working on in conjunction with Queensland Health is a mental health care responder, where we respond with a clinician from Queensland Health paramedic and a clinician in a smaller vehicle.”
Specifically addressing the case of an elderly man who died on the floor of his Smithfield unit while waiting for medics for almost an hour on March 10 last year, Asst Com Baxter believed the wait to be acceptable.
Cairns Hospital experienced a ramping logjam that night meaning multiple units were tied up waiting to deliver patients into the emergency department.
The closest ambulance was dispatched from Smithfield, 32 minutes after the triple-0 call.
The ambulance crew requested a bathroom break, and arrived on scene at 11.48pm, 56 minutes after the call.
“We did have enough staff on for that shift. We had extra staff on call, as well as a backup at the hospital,” she said.
“Yes, (the hospital) was on a level one escalation, but that had been revoked just before this call came in, and the timing of this call (was) an appropriate response time for that coding of that case.
“That’s one that unfortunately the patient did die.”
Outlined in the significant incident review Acting Assistant Commissioner Rita Kelly recommended reviewing the procedure for returning officers to their station when one officer finishes earlier than their partner, as was the case with one of the ramped ambulances in Cairns that night.
While reluctant to comment on the link between staffing shortfalls and patient care, Asst Com Baxter said it was “acceptable for a patient to wait for an hour” in regional cities such as Cairns and Townsville.
“It can be very appropriate, and can I say with all of these cases that you have before you, the coroner has made no findings against us,” she said.
The officer of Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath was approached for comment, however inquiries were referred to Queensland Ambulance Service.
More Coverage
Originally published as Bombshell ambo documents reveal consequence of long wait times
‘Serious’ crash shuts Far North highway, delays expected
The Bruce Hwy south of Cairns is expected to be shut for a lengthy period as emergency services respond to a “serious” crash. What we know so far.
Man declared dead after getting into trouble at Qld waterfall
A man has died at a well-known Far North waterfall after being pulled unresponsive from the water, despite the efforts of first responders. What we know so far.