Man waits six hours for Victorian paramedics as crisis deepens

A Victorian man with severe Covid symptoms has described how he feared for his life while waiting six hours for paramedics to arrive.

Victoria’s ambulance crisis has again been thrust into the spotlight after a man with severe Covid symptoms reportedly feared for his life as he waited six hours for paramedics to arrive.

Rowville man Robert, 74, waited almost six hours for an ambulance to arrive on January 30 after collapsing due to experiencing severe Covid symptoms.

His concerned wife called triple-0 just after 10.30pm, but the ambulance did not arrive until 4.15am the next morning.

He then spent the next three days unconscious and connected to machines in the ICS Covid high dependency ward and more than a week in hospital.

“They had no idea what was causing the delay for the ambulance to arrive. They were also concerned about how sick I was and feared for my life,” Robert told the Herald Sun.

“It was very stressful for me … and also to my wife during those hours. I really don’t want another family to go through this. The system needs to be fixed.”

The pandemic has placed extreme pressure on the service. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Premier Daniel Andrews has attributed the pressure on the service to the pandemic, which has hit all areas across Victoria’s health system.

It’s believed three people have died in the past year while they waited for ambulances.

The most recent was Cowes man Stewart Grant, who died in January after it took 40 minutes for paramedics to arrive.

Two deaths reported publicly last year were Melbourne residents Nick Panagiotopoulos and Christina Lackmann, who both died while waiting for an ambulance.

Complaints about unanswered calls have skyrocketed amid triple-0 ambulance calls growing to an average of 3000 a day.

The Victorian health system is struggling to cope. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Victorian opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said it was an “unacceptable failure”.

“Tragically, too many Victorians are dying while waiting for an ambulance,” Ms Crozier said.

“Daniel Andrews has been health minister or premier for 11 of the last 15 years. No one is more responsible for the failing state of our emergency health system than he is.

“Victorians will never recover and rebuild while families struggle to access basic healthcare services.”

More to come

Originally published as Man waits six hours for Victorian paramedics as crisis deepens