Mitch Clarke: Damning report on ambulance ramping another cause for concern for Victorians
While there’s no denying Covid has been disastrous for our health system, the latest damning report shows that some issues have roots going back years.
Opinion
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Another damning report card on Daniel Andrews’ health system is further cause for concern for Victorians.
This time, a Victorian study in the Medical Journal of Australia estimated that ambulance ramping may have been associated with 70 preventable deaths and 225 preventable re-attendances to hospital by patients with chest pain in 2018.
On top of that, the research found a patient’s risk of dying – or having to call an ambulance again within 30 days – increased after 17 minutes of being ramped.
Despite this, the report noted the target for offloading was within 40 minutes.
In the UK, this target is within 15 minutes.
It also found ramping was on the rise even before the Covid pandemic hit. This is important to note, as “Covid” is almost always the first word out of politicians’ mouths when issues surrounding Victoria’s strained health system are aired.
But this research is one of the clearest indicators that these issues are systemic and have roots going back years.
And it comes just a day after Ambulance Victoria was forced to call yet another code red – its fifth of the year.
Senior minister Ben Carroll was accused of “blaming” Victorians for contributing to the problem by warning that they needed to be part of the solution to fix it.
“We’ve always got to do more, but we’re asking Victorians to be on the journey with us,” he said when asked by the Herald Sun if the government had failed people in their time of need.
Asking the community to only call for help in an emergency has been a key line in the government’s response book.
There is no denying some people have misused the triple-0 service, but this repeated messaging could result in others second-guessing their need for an ambulance.
The biggest fear now is those in genuine need won’t pick up the phone for fear of contributing to the health crisis.
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