Woman dies after spending two hours ‘ramped’ at RHH

The Greens have described the death of a woman waiting for hospital admission as “a travesty” and are calling for government action.

Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

A woman died after being “ramped” for two hours in the care of paramedics at the Royal Hobart Hospital on Tuesday, the Greens say.

Greens health spokeswoman Rosalie Woodruff described the woman’s death as “a travesty” and called on the government to do more to expand the capacity of emergency departments.

Ramping is a term which refers to the practice of patients being cared for by paramedics in ambulances or dedicated hospital waiting areas prior to their admission when emergency departments are too busy to see them.

“We are so, so sad to hear that another person has died in a ramp in Tasmania’s hospitals, a woman who waited two hours lying unable to be admitted to the emergency department at Royal Hobart Hospital,” Dr Woodruff said.

The woman’s daughter was with her when she died.

Greens MP Rosalie Woodruff speaks to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Thursday, November 24, 2022.

“It is incredibly sad that this is the second time – that we know of – that a person has died on the ramp.

“It is absolutely clear that this person … did not get the care that she ought to be able to have.”

A woman in her 70s died after spending nine hours ramped at the Launceston General Hospital in August.

A 77-year-old Howrah man died after waiting four hours and 15 minutes for an ambulance in ­September 2020.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff responded to questions in parliament about the woman’s death with an answer about the hospital’s Covid escalation plan and ambulance staffing levels.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff and State Health Commander Kathrine Morgan-Wicks speak to the media.

Department of Health Secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said: “The Department of Health can confirm that a patient died in the Emergency Medical Unit, which is located inside the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Emergency Department, on Tuesday 22 November.”

“As is the case whenever a patient dies in our care, we take this matter very seriously and we give our sincere condolences to the family and friends of this patient,” she said in a statement.

“The Royal Hobart Hospital and Ambulance Tasmania will be undertaking a review to … understand the circumstances around the patient’s death.

“This is now a matter for the Coroner and further comment would be inappropriate.”

The number of patients admitted with in 15 minutes at the Royal has fallen from 68.8 per cent in 2019-20 to 57.4 per cent in 2021-22 and the number admitted within 30 minutes from 75.6 per cent to 65.7 per cent.

The median wait time on the ramp is about two hours.

Ms Woodruff said the government response was not good enough.

“The woman … died on the ramp, the government can try and spin this any way they like. It was not a person who had been admitted into emergency. The medical unit is just a room that’s full of beds, patients who come out of ambulances and who are cared for by paramedics until they can get admitted into the hospital. They do not have the clinical supervision of a medical specialist with them. They have a paramedic – highly trained in that regard – but clearly, they need to be admitted.

“The Premier is focusing his attention and his government’s resources at looking at building a billion dollar stadium. We want him to put that attention on those resources into our fixing the things that could be fixed in the health system.”