By Colin MacGillivray
Outgoing Member for Euroa Steph Ryan has highlighted in Victorian Parliament the case of a Kilmore man who waited more than two hours for an ambulance despite signs of a heart attack.
Earlier this year, Max Perry presented to Kilmore District Health with symptoms of a heart attack and was told he would require an ambulance to a Melbourne hospital.
Mr Perry waited two hours for an ambulance to arrive from Woodend, with no ambulances available in nearer towns.
Once in the ambulance, Mr Perry was told there were no available beds in any public hospitals and was transported to Melbourne Private Hospital – a journey of more than 70 kilometres.
During question time earlier this month, Ms Ryan raised Mr Perry’s case with Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas.
“How is it acceptable to the minister that a Victorian suffering from a heart attack has to wait two hours for an ambulance to arrive because resources are so stretched?” she said.
“Mr Perry had to use his private health insurance to get a bed at Melbourne Private Hospital in the city centre.
“How has it got to this, where there are no public hospital beds available for a Victorian suffering a heart attack?”
In response, Ms Thomas said Ambulance Victoria would work to prioritise cases such as Mr Perry’s.
“Every decision that is taken will be in the best interests of Mr Perry and trying to get him the service that he needs as quickly as possible,” she said.
“Our health system has been under unprecedented pressure, and this is being experienced not just here in Victoria, but right around the nation and, indeed, around the world.
“Every day, our healthcare workers, our paramedics, our emergency doctors, our intensive care nurses, our cardiologists, are working to deliver the best and most timely care that they can.
“They would have been working always with the best interests of Mr Perry in mind at all times to get him the healthcare that he needed.”
A Department of Health spokesperson said Ambulance Victoria prioritised emergency ambulances for people facing life-threatening health emergencies.
They said as Mr Perry was in a stable condition at Kilmore District Health, he did not top the priority list.
They said assigning patients to private hospitals, if suitable, was part of the State Government’s strategy to manage overall hospital capacity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Like health systems across the country, we continue to see a record demand for services – that’s why we’re investing billions into the system and opening new ambulance stations, including in Broadford near Kilmore, so Victorians can get the care they need when they need it,” they said.
“We always endeavour to provide Victorians with the care and treatment they need close to home, but where that is not possible transfer arrangements are made at the earliest opportunity.
“Those patients with the most critical needs will always be prioritised and we thank all Victorians for their patience and understanding while we make the critical investments to get the system back on track – getting more paramedics on the road, more Triple Zero call takers, expanding and upgrading our hospitals, and training and recruiting up to 7000 additional healthcare workers.”