New mum’s agonising wait for an ambulance

A woman who suffered a severe haemorrhage days after giving birth was forced to drive 30 minutes to hospital after triple-0 calls were repeatedly disconnected.

A nurse who waited five minutes for her call to be connected to paramedics says the triple-0 delays are unacceptable . Picture: David Crosling

A woman who waited five minutes for her call to be connected to paramedics while she was bleeding says the triple-0 delays are unacceptable and should be urgently addressed by the state government.

Nurse Hannah Beks, 28, from Victoria’s southwest, experienced bleeding nine days after giving birth on ­November 20 and immediately required an ambulance.

“It was 2am and I was losing a lot of blood, so I immediately alerted my husband to call ­triple-0,” Ms Beks said.

“The operator asked if we wanted police, fire or ambulance and we were then disconnected about a minute in. We tried again but the same thing happened.

“I couldn’t wait so we got the kids in the car so we could drive to the hospital, which was 30 minutes away and I called the third time and we got through – but it took us five minutes before we were connected to paramedics.”

Ms Beks said they were given the option to pull over and wait, but decided to continue driving to the hospital as they were given no estimate on how long the ambulance would take.

“When I arrived at the hospital I had two units of a blood transfusion and an iron transfusion because I had lost 2.4 ­litres of blood. I also had surgery later that day to stop the bleeding.”

She urged the state government and emergency calls agency ESTA to review their systems.

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill said Ms Beks’ ordeal was “just another example” of how extremely unwell patients were experiencing long call delays.

He said ESTA should have employed more call-taking staff at least six months ago.

Opposition Health spokesman Georgie Crozier said: “Too many Victorians are having shocking experiences. Services like triple-0 should be accessed in a timely manner.”

ESTA is recruiting 43 new call takers, dispatchers and mental health support workers – all due to be working by the end of January – and is offering current staff overtime shifts.

ESTA interim chief executive Stephen Leane said: “We cannot comment on every individual case but acknowledge that any delays in answering emergency calls is unacceptable.”

Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes said: “ESTA staff have been working tirelessly during the pandemic to help Victorians – but clearly, any delays are unacceptable.

“That’s why we’re providing a crucial funding boost to ESTA.”