Dramatic images show Victoria's health system at breaking point as scores of patients wait hours at Melbourne hospitals

    Brigid O'Connell, Michelle Ainsworth, James Campbell
    Herald Sun
    July 10, 2013


DRAMATIC images show Victoria's health system at breaking point as scores of patients wait hours on stretchers at Melbourne hospitals.      

Ambulance "ramping" hit chaotic levels on Monday night: 17 crews were waiting to hand over patients at hospitals during the night.

This accounted for a third of the ambulance fleet on the night.

Photos reveal a gridlocked corridor at Frankston, where at least 10 elderly patients waited to be admitted, blocking the path to the resuscitation room.

The emergency department went on a two-hour "bypass" so more patients would not arrive by ambulance.

Victoria's hospital congestion revealed

The gridlock is also causing a lag in response times and paramedics being abused when arriving late.

Premier Denis Napthine last night told the Herald Sun more beds were being added, emergency departments such as Frankston's were being upgraded and the ambulance service, which was involved in pay talks, was being funded at record levels.

But the Australian Medical Association called for the urgent provision of more hospital beds outside the emergency department, to ensure that patients could be moved on to the wards.

Health Minister David Davis admitted yesterday there was an overcrowding problem and resources at Frankston needed upgrading.   

The Opposition has asked the Coroner to probe four deaths, including that of a cardiac patient, 71, who died last month after awaiting treatment at Frankston.

The man, who had a heart attack, died en route to Monash Medical Centre.      

A 60km stretch in Melbourne's southeast, from Frankston to Portsea, was left with only one ambulance on Monday night, after eight crews were stuck at hospital.          

Paramedics warn volatile conditions are being created by cramming patients, some with complex conditions, into corridors with no privacy.

AMA president Dr Stephen Parnis, an emergency department physician, said ramping was a daily expectation in most Melbourne hospitals and a daily source of angst and frustration.

"I treat people in corridors on a regular basis, and in chairs in waiting rooms," Dr Parnis said.      

"You can get away with that, but there are some things where there is no substitute for a cubicle with a bed or resuscitation bay.

"We've had new models of care, such as short-stay units and ambulance triage trials, but the inescapable conclusion that I and my colleagues draw from evidence is that we need more inpatient beds in hospitals."

A paramedic from the southeast, who was stuck for two hours trying to off-load a patient at Frankston on Monday night, said the gridlock had kept eight local ambulances tied up for at least two hours each.

One crew arrived at the hospital an hour after their shift was due to finish. Another got one 30-minute break in a 12-hour shift.      

The paramedic said having patients with mental health, neurological and cardiac problems on adjacent stretchers could cause problems. "Potentially, you've got a risk, if someone is violent, or (there are) infectious hazards, or if someone needs resuscitation urgently," he said.

"The pathway was blocked between the ambulance entry door and resuscitation. At least 10 trolleys were crammed in there.      

"What frustrates me about ramping is that when we finally do get back out onto the road, we're the ones who have to apologise on behalf of the service.

"We're the face of the problem," the paramedic said.

Frankston Hospital spokesman John Jukes said the emergency department had 80 patients after 8pm, including 28 in the waiting room.

He said the department was put on "bypass" for two hours from 8.30pm to cope with the high demand.

Ambulance Victoria's acting general manager of regional services, Garry Cook, said hospitals and ambulances were experiencing significant increases in demand during winter, and it was working with hospitals statewide to improve patient flow.

Same tales of woe emanating from all States

Wonder why, huh ?


Same tale involving roads and infrastructure

Wonder why, huh ?


Sydney choking under a population of close to five million

when it was already creaking under one million

Wonder why, huh ?


Why don't you ask the goons posing as government and calling for a Big Australia ?

Ask them why millions of muslims and Asians are permitted to establish ghettos in our few large towns and cities, instead of implementing at least some decentralisation

Now, why doesn't the fake government and both fake 'big' parties reveal the number of genuine Aussies who're leaving the Lucky Country for good ?

And while they're at it, why don't they reveal the reasons given BY those Aussies as they leave with haunted looks on their faces ?

Swagman, that is something not for me, or for you to work out.      

If we could force politicians and their families to use the public system, I am sure that they would sort it all out fairly quickly.