Victorian ambulances stuck waiting to unload patients at Melbourne hospitals for as long as 10 hours

Less than 5 per cent of the state’s ambulances were available overnight Monday as crews were stuck waiting to unload patients for as long as 10 hours at major Melbourne hospitals.

Less than 5 per cent of the state’s ambulance crews were available overnight Monday as hundreds of paramedics were stuck ramped at hospitals.

Frustrated paramedics have told the Herald Sun that almost 50 Victorians were left waiting for help as emergency room waiting times blew out up to 10 hours.

Leaked ambulance data showed more than 25 crews were off the road across metropolitan Melbourne on Monday night because of staff shortages.

As at 7.15pm at least another 110 crews were stuck ramped at hospitals, meaning paramedics were caring for patients waiting to be admitted.

Less than 5 per cent of the state’s ambulance crews were available overnight Monday. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

Data leaked to the Herald Sun showed wait times had blown out to 10 hours at the Austin Hospital, almost five hours at Sunshine Hospital and almost four hours at Footscray Hospital.

More than 10 major hospitals were showing wait times of more than two hours by 8pm.

Ballarat paramedics were also asked to avoid Ballarat Hospital, meaning critical patients were to be transported to Melbourne, Geelong or Bendigo.

At least one major metropolitan hospital was also understood to have warned paramedics they had no beds available.

Premier Jacinta Allan said she had received advice a Code Orange was called overnight and said winter was to blame for the spike in demand.

But she admitted more needed to be done to address the ongoing problem.

“This is, in part, a seasonal challenge,” she said.

“We are clearly in the depths of winter where many people are suffering from the impacts of flus, and Covid still around, and a lot of respiratory illnesses.

Premier Jacinta Allan said winter was to blame for the spike in demand. Picture: Nadir Kinani

“So we do see during winter spikes in demand that triggers the issuing of the Code Orange and that then triggers a call for additional paramedics and health staff to come into the system. “And that’s the advice on what occurred yesterday evening, and it does speak to some of those ongoing pressures that our hospitals and ambulance services experience, and why we need to continue to invest, as we are, look at further reforms.”

Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill urged Victorians seeking care to consider their need for an ambulance.

“If your issue is not a life threatening emergency, you will be seen faster going through Virtual ED or an Urgent Care Clinic,” he said.

“A lot of people call paramedics thinking they wont need to go into the waiting room if they are taken by ambulance. That’s just not true.

“When it’s this busy, the ED beds are for patients in immediate life threat. Anyone else will go into the waiting room for most of the night”.

Wait times blew out at Footscray Hospital on Monday night.

Two Victorians have died waiting for an ambulance this month, including an elderly Blackburn man who was left to bleed to death after falling and hitting his head.

The man phoned for an ambulance twice, but it took almost five hours for one to arrive.

As he lay waiting for help up to six crews were stuck ramped at the nearby Box Hill Hospital just one suburb away.

A parliamentary inquiry probing Ambulance Victoria has been warned that hospital ramping is endangering lives and leaving entire communities without an ambulance.

The Allan government in February issued new offload benchmarks for the state’s 17 busiest emergency departments to improve patient transfer times and get paramedics back on the road sooner.

Health minister Mary-Anne Thomas threatened hospitals with “consequences” if they failed to meet the tough new standards.

Originally published as Victorian ambulances stuck waiting to unload patients at Melbourne hospitals for as long as 10 hours