Police refused to attend without evidence of violence. The woman’s partner ­reported her dead about five hours after first phoning triple-0

A review has been launched into the death of a Victorian woman who was left waiting five hours for an ambulance as emergency services were locked in a stand-off.

The woman died while waiting for paramedics after suffering a suspected prescription medication overdose.

A woman has been left to die while waiting up to five hours for an ambulance due to an emergency services stand-off.

The Herald Sun can reveal the woman, from Bailieston in central Victoria, died while waiting for paramedics after suffering a suspected prescription medication overdose in the early hours of Wednesday.

Ambulance Victoria had been called to her address late on Tuesday, and requested the assistance of police because of a history of the 44-year-old woman being violent with emergency service workers.

But police refused to attend without evidence of violence.

Paramedics requested police assistance due to the woman’s history. Picture: Diego Fedele

Two crews of paramedics were ultimately dispatched when the woman’s partner ­reported her dead about five hours after first phoning triple-0 for help.

The tragedy comes just a week after the Herald Sun revealed a Blackburn man was left for dead when paramedics took almost five hours to attend after he fell and hit his head earlier this month.

In that case, Box Hill Hospital had refused to release several crews of paramedics who were waiting for patients to be seen in its emergency department back on to the road.

It comes as a parliamentary inquiry into Ambulance Victoria will resume on Friday, hearing evidence from agency executives and Department of Health ­officials.

A parliamentary inquiry into Ambulance Victoria will resume on Friday. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

In the latest tragedy, it is understood paramedics had visited the woman more than a dozen times since last year, when a safety alert was put on her file after she became violent. Paramedics visited the woman seven times in the past month, including four times accompanied by police.

It is understood she was not violent on any of those occasions, including during a call-out little more than 24 hours before she died.

An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said while a review would be launched into the woman’s death, the safety of paramedics was paramount.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the patient’s family and loved ones during this very sad time,” she said.

“Ambulance Victoria is committed to providing the highest standards of care for every patient, at the same time ensuring the safety of our paramedics and first responders.

“We will review this case to help us better understand the circumstances and co-operate with any other investigations.”

Victorian Ambulance Union boss Danny Hill said the circumstances of the tragic case were played out regularly across the state.

“There are circumstances where paramedics are not ­approaching cases due to outdated or incorrect safety information which delays patient care,” he said.

“On the other hand, we have had paramedics assaulted after walking into a scene while police were standing off waiting for reinforcements because they had information that wasn’t shared with paramedics.

In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry, police union secretary Wayne Gatt has also called for the government to address concerns about ineffective ­information sharing.

And he said there was a historic over-reliance on police responding to mental health crises.

“The overuse of police in responding to what is ostensibly a health crisis, has demonstrably led to adverse outcomes for many patients dealt with by police as opposed to heath intervention,” he said.

Recommendations from the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System called for key reforms to reduce police involvement and strengthen emergency response capabilities within the mental health sector.

A police spokesperson said police would prepare a report for the Coroner.