Greens, Union claim patients dying due to ambulance ramping as latest figures revealed

Dozens of people have died after being “ramped” at one of the state’s public hospitals and the toll is steadily rising, new figures show.

Health and Community Services Union State Secretary Robbie Moore and Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff speak to the media at parliament Square in Hobart on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

Dozens of people have died after being “ramped” at one of the state’s public hospitals and the toll is steadily rising, new figures show.

Health Department data released to a parliamentary inquiry revealed the number of people who died within 24 hours of experiencing a “transfer of care delay” rose from 16 statewide in 2018/19 to 44 in 2022/23.

The number of deaths at the Royal Hobart Hospital rose from 12 in 2020/21 and 2021/22 to 26 in 2022/23.

The total for the period was 136 deaths, figures provided to a parliamentary inquiry into ramping, with another 24 possible but unable to be determined due too inaccurate timekeeping.

New figures show the extent of ambulance ramping. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Ambulance ramping, officially known as a transfer-of-care delay, is a term which refers to patients being cared for by paramedics in ambulances or dedicated hospital waiting areas before their admission, when emergency departments are too busy to see them.

Notes accompanying the new figures pointed out that a link could not necessarily be drawn between the delay and the patient dying.

“As ambulance arrivals usually reflect the most acutely unwell presentations, it is not unexpected that some patients will die while in hospital, with around half the deaths in Tasmania each year occurring in a major hospital,” it said.

“A causal link cannot be drawn between transfer of care delay and cause of death based on these administrative data.”

Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff said Tasmanian patients are being left ramped for 16 times longer than they were eight years ago and the delay in receiving care was having negative outcomes.

“Even these terrible new figures don’t tell the full story of the probable harms of ramping, with a Victorian study finding patients ramped for longer than only 17 minutes at greater risk of death in the following month,” she said.

Health and Community Services Union State Secretary Robboe Moore and Greens leader Rosalie Woodruff speak to the media at parliament Square in Hobart on Wednesday, January 17, 2024.

“The data published by the Parliamentary Inquiry today only shows the number of patients who died within a day, after being ramped for longer than 30 minutes.

“It’s highly likely many more people’s deaths have occurred as a result of ramping.”

Health and Community Services Union state secretary Robbie Moore said patients were dying because of ramping.

“The reality is that patients who are attending hospital in an ambulance are meant to be able to get a bed, to get treatment from doctors, to be able to get diagnostic tests to find out why they have the illness that they have and they’re not getting that because they’re being ramped,” he said.

“The Launceston General Hospital and the Royal Hobart hospital have the worst ramping in the country and Tasmanians are dying because of that.

“What we need is more resources into our health system.”

Health Minister Guy Barnett said improvements were underway to reduce the incidence of ramping.

“This includes the development of a new Transfer of Care protocol requiring patients to be transferred from ambulance to hospital within one hour, on which we are currently consulting with staff and unions,” he said.

“We’re conducting an independent review into the operations of the emergency departments at all four Tasmanian hospitals as part of the Rockliff Liberal Government’s commitment to the ongoing improvement of the State’s health system.

“About 40 per cent of presentations to the emergency departments are semi-urgent or non-urgent, often more appropriately treated by a GP or other primary health services.

“We have repeatedly called on the federal government to urgently outline its plan to adequately invest in Medicare to ensure GP clinics remain financially viable, so that Tasmanians can see a doctor when they need to. “