Victorian man dies after one hour delay for ambulance
A man has died in rural Victoria despite his distraught family’s desperate attempts to save his life during an agonising hour-long wait for an ambulance to arrive.
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A man has died in rural Victoria after allegedly waiting over an hour for an ambulance to arrive.
Indigo Shire Mayor Jenny O’Connor has revealed the agonising wait for help when the man collapsed in his driveway last month and a family member carried out CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
“The ambulance was called straight away. They had to do CPR for an hour that is a long delay,” Ms O’Connor said.
“It is appalling and the minister is aware of it. The bottom line is there is not enough of them (ambulances).
“This is what I was saying would happen that one day there would be fatality.
She declined to release further information about the incident out of respect for the family.
Health and Ambulance Services Minister Jenny Mikakos is seeking advice on the incident.
“Our thoughts and sympathy are with the family and loved ones,” she said.
“We continue to work with our regional communities to ensure ambulances are getting to the scene of emergencies faster right across the state.”
Ambulance Victoria posted a state-wide quarterly response this year of 84.2 percent of Code 1 ambulances reaching patients within 15 minutes.
Member for northern Victoria Tania Maxwell said it was a distressing case.
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“I am very alarmed about a specific case raised at the Indigo Shire council meeting this week relating to ambulance response times and firstly wish to convey my thoughts and send my condolences to the families affected,” she said.
It is understood the man was still alive when the paramedics arrived but died soon after in hospital.
“I am meeting with the Minister for Health tomorrow regarding a number of matters, response times in Indigo Shire being one of them.
“In advance of this meeting I have advised her office of this distressing case and will be requesting information on what investigation is being undertaken in response.”