Tragic number of Victorians who have died waiting for an ambulance

The number of Victorians who have tragically died while waiting for an ambulance and for elective surgery over the last two years has been revealed, leading to a call for “urgent action”.

Twenty Victorians have died while waiting for an ambulance over the past two years.

Twenty Victorians have died while waiting for an ambulance over the past two years.

The alarming figure was revealed at a Public Accounts and Estimates Committee health hearing on Friday.

Department of Health secretary Euan Wallace said 10 patients died while waiting for Ambulance Victoria in 2021-22 and another 10 died in 2022-23.

“If a Victorian had called an ambulance and an ambulance wasn’t available in time and their health deteriorated such that they never made it to hospital, that would be a sentinel event,” he said.

“There were 10 sentinel events in 2021 and 2022 and there were 10 in 2022 and 2023.”

The hearing also revealed that 1395 Victorians died while waiting for elective surgery over the past two years.

About 1044 people were removed from the waitlist in 2022 with another 351 people dropped this year after their death.

Nearly 1400 Victorians have also died while waiting for elective surgery over the past two years.

Deputy chair and upper house MP Nick McGowan questioned if the health department would investigate whether the deaths were caused from waiting for surgery.

Mr Wallace said the deaths would reported and investigated “appropriately”.

“If a Victorian dies as a result of perceived or actual healthcare failure, then by definition that would be a sentinel event and the expectation would be that health services report the sentinel event through to Safer Care Victoria that curates that program,” he said.

“The health service then reviews the sentinel event pending on the nature of the sentinel event.”

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the figures were “deeply concerning”.

“These are deeply concerning figures that highlight the crisis across Victoria’s health system under the Allan government,” she said.

“Years of waste, mismanagement and under investment under Labor means too many Victorians suffer tragic health outcomes.

“Victorians continue to be punished for the incompetence of the Labor government.

“Urgent action is required to address Victoria’s health crisis and ensure all Victorians have access to the healthcare they deserve.”