Review after SA man dies waiting more than 10 hours for an ambulance

A 54-year-old Adelaide man’s desperate plea for help fell short after waiting more than 10 hours for an ambulance to arrive last week.

An ambulance outside Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Brenton Edwards

A formal review has been launched into the South Australian Ambulance Service after a man died while waiting more than 10 hours for an ambulance last week.

An Adelaide man’s desperate plea for help fell short after calling triple-0 three times on December 27.

The 54-year-old from Hectorville, a small suburb in northeastern Adelaide, died an agonising death with no help in sight.

On the night, a Code White was declared for emergency departments across Adelaide on the same night, meaning all treatment rooms were occupied.

SA Ambulance Service chief executive Rob Elliott said very high demand and significant ramping meant ambulances had to prioritise more urgent calls.

“On the 27th of December overnight, we did experience an extended delay to a Priority-Five patient in our community, which had a tragic outcome and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the patient,” Mr Elliot said.

“We were experiencing extremely high triple-0 demands, there was significant ramping as well.”

Royal Adelaide Hospital. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Elliott said ambulance crews responded four minutes after the priority was lifted to the highest level.

“It was in that 10th hour and once we received that call advising us of the significant deterioration we were able to respond and arrive in four minutes.”

“This is not the service that we wanted to provide, however we will undergo a review to try and prevent these types of incidents from occurring,” he said.

The Ambulance Employees Association claimed there was significant ramping across all Adelaide hospitals on the same night and delays were a factor in the 54-year-old’s death.

A video posted by the AEA to X, formerly Twitter, shows at least 10 ambulance vehicles waiting outside the Royal Adelaide Hospital on the same night of the incident.

On 27 Dec there was significant ramping across Adelaide. Tragically a 54 yo male in Hectorville passed away after waiting >10hrs for an ambulance to arrive. This highlights the upmost importance of EDs clearing ramped ambulances to respond to the community 💔.
🎥 RAH: 10pm 27/12 pic.twitter.com/PrlKPwf3HQ

— Ambulance Employees Association (SA) (@aeasa1981) January 4, 2024

“This tragic death is a stark reminder that when ambulances are ramped at hospitals, patients waiting for help in the community are left without care for unacceptably and dangerously long periods of time,” AEA industrial officer Josh Karpowicz said.

“This led to long delays in ambulance responses, and by the time an ambulance arrived for this patient, he had passed away.”

Three calls were made between the patient and dispatchers on the night.