Paramedics forced to flee scene over ‘vile’ abuse about Drouin great-grandmother Lois Casboult
Anger at Victoria’s health system has reached a new low, with paramedics wrongfully abused on the job over a controversial call to not transport an injured elderly woman to hospital.
Paramedics are being verbally abused and wrongfully blamed on the job by Victorians taking their anger with the healthcare system out on them, their union warns.
Ambulance Victoria was forced to issue a statement condemning “unacceptable abuse”, after a crew and their patient had to flee when a bystander became aggressive on Friday.
It comes after the Herald Sun revealed the case of a 91-year-old Drouin great-grandmother, Lois Casboult, who suffered a broken pelvis and brain bleed.
The woman’s family says they had to drive her to hospital themselves because the ambulance crew, in consultation with a doctor from Victoria’s virtual emergency department, declined to transport her.
The case is under review, but the Victorian Ambulance Union has revealed paramedics — completely unconnected to the case — are being confronted about it while trying to help people.
Union secretary Danny Hill said a crew who was treating a patient at Footscray bus stop on Friday night was approached by a male bystander.
“He was yelling and swearing them, ‘you should have f---ing transported the 91-year-old to hospital,’,” he said.
“He was trying to get others on board.
“It’s vile behaviour.”
He said they had to leave the scene with the patient, and treat them around the corner from the bus stop.
“They had concerns for their safety as the man got closer,” he said.
He said they were not the first crew to be confronted about the Drouin case and called for calm.
“It’s been pretty uncomfortable for a lot of crews,” he said.
“There’s been a lot of uninformed commentary about the actions of our members, but I reiterate that they did exactly what they are trained to do and required to do.”
He said sometimes patients decline transport and crews contact the virtual emergency department hoping that a doctor can convince them otherwise.
“We should wait for the paramedics’ side of the story,” he said.
“Some politicians have commented publicly before getting their facts straight and that can have serious ramifications for our members on road.
“I expected the review will clearly show that our members are caring, professional and did their job properly.
Ambulance Victoria said they were “deeply concerned by reports that paramedics were unable to treat a patient due to verbal abuse,” which appears to be related to the Drouin case.
“The Drouin case is distressing for all involved and is now the subject of a review, which will ensure a complete and accurate account of what took place,” the statement said.
“Our highly skilled paramedics attended quickly and sought the assistance of the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department (VVED) and liaised with the treating doctor on a care plan.
“Let us be clear, any form of abuse – whether physical or verbal – is completely unacceptable and has no place in our community.
“Our people dedicate themselves to caring for others. They should never face intimidation or harm for doing their job.”
Originally published as Paramedics forced to flee scene over ‘vile’ abuse about Drouin great-grandmother Lois Casboult
