Patient dies waiting for bed at Maroondah Hospital

A female patient has died while waiting for a bed at a major hospital in Melbourne’s east, with staff warning Victoria’s health system is in crisis.

A patient has died waiting for a bed at Maroondah Hospital, with staff warning Victoria’s health system is in crisis.

A patient has died while waiting for a bed at one of Melbourne’s major hospitals with staff warning Victoria’s health system is in crisis.

The Herald Sun can reveal the female died while waiting in the emergency department of Maroondah Hospital in Melbourne’s east on Wednesday.

“ED was standing room only, ambulances banked and people dying on trolleys because we didn’t have any available beds,” a hospital whistleblower said.

Another staffer said the hospital had been at capacity all week with exhausted staff struggling to keep up with demand.

It is understood the patient died while waiting for a bed, shocking frustrated staff who said they felt helpless because of a bed shortage.

Hospital staff said the woman was one of two people to die in the emergency department on Wednesday, a claim vehemently denied by the hospital.

Staff said ambulances were being forced to ramp at the hospital with patients unable to be offloaded.

A hospital whistleblower said the emergency department was “standing room only” when the patient died waiting for a bed.

Victorian Agency for Health Information data released this week showed 69.01 per cent of patients were being transferred from ambulances to emergency departments within 40 minutes, well below the 90 per cent target.

Code 1 response times had also worsened since last quarter in 31 of 79 local government areas.

Asked about the deaths, a spokesperson for Eastern Health, which manages the Maroondah Hospital, expressed condolences to the patients’ loved ones.

“This is a very challenging time for both our staff and the community,” she said.

“We express our condolences to the family and friends of anyone who has died in our health service.

“Our staff are working tirelessly to provide the very best care for all of our patients, however we have been experiencing an increased volume of higher acuity cases coupled with significant demand through our Emergency Department.”

Ambulances were banked up and people were dying on trolleys because the hospital didn’t have any available beds, the whistleblower said.

Shadow Health Minister, Georgie Crozier, said the government’s commitment to health services would be tested in next week’s budget.

“Under Labor, hospitals and their staff are at breaking point – and further cuts, closures and amalgamations will only make things worse,” she said.

“These tragic incidents demonstrate the depth of Victoria’s health crisis. A crisis which Labor is failing to fix.

“Victorian patients are paying the price due to Labor’s ongoing mismanagement of our health system.”

Bed shortages across the state could also worsen within weeks unless the Allan government accedes to the demands of nurses fighting for a better wage deal.

Victorian nurses have warned they will shut up to a quarter of public hospital beds and cancel planned surgeries unless a deal is reached.

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Victorian branch members voted in favour of a “last resort” protected action ballot this week – after rejecting the government’s offer of a 3 per cent wage increase.

The union called for measures to “reverse” the growing casualisation of the workforce on Tuesday and want better penalty and incentive payments to retain permanent workers.

The state’s paramedics are also at war with the government over a new wage deal.