Narisha Cash’s family’s heartbreak over Victorian emergency service delays

The family of a Melbourne woman who died while waiting for police and paramedics claim she would still be alive today if help arrived sooner.

The family of a woman who tragically died while waiting for Victoria’s emergency services say she would still be alive today if help arrived sooner.

Narisha Cash, also known as Nish, died while waiting for police and paramedics to arrive at her Sunshine West home on March 26, 2020.

The 41-year-old Jingili Aboriginal woman’s family claim there were significant delays in the arrival of emergency services after she called triple-0 for help.

It’s understood an ambulance was only sent to the home after Victoria Police found Nish unresponsive.

Her brother, Mathew Cash, said an ambulance should have arrived sooner and if it did, Nish would still be alive today.

“I miss Nish so much, it’s still hard to believe that she is not around,” he said. 

“If she got the help she needed on time, she would probably still be here.”

Nish’s coronial inquest will take place this week at Melbourne’s Coroners Court.

Mr Cash said he hopes the inquest will find out why it took so long for emergency services to attend his sister’s home.

“There are many people grieving Nish’s death still,” he said. 

“I hope the coronial inquest will lead to change so that no one else loses a loved one because emergency services couldn’t respond in time.”

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service chief executive Nerita Waight said Nish’s family need justice. 

“Nish’s family deserve to know what went wrong and we will try and ensure they get those answers,” she said. 

“Too often, when Aboriginal people ask for help, they don’t get it. It’s part of the systemic racism we face everyday.

“No Victorian should die waiting for police or ambulance to arrive.”

Nish was the eldest of three siblings and had a passion for art and music.

She was a community arts and youth engagement officer at Tandanya, a museum dedicated to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture. 

In 2015, she won the Gladys Elphick award — an award that recognises the achievements of Aboriginal women who work tirelessly to advance the status of Aboriginal people.