Thousands of patients are being forced to wait hours in the back of ambulances before being admitted into emergency departments, said Shadow Minister for Health, Helen Shardey.

Previously unreleased documents obtained under Freedom of Information from the Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) found from 1 January to 31 July this year, more than 5,600 patients endured waits of 30 minutes or longer in ambulances outside hospitals.

“These documents identify the crisis in our health system and in particular the excessive amount of time ambulance patients are being forced to wait because of the dismissive attitude of the Brumby Government and its failure to fund and resource our hospitals adequately,” said Mrs Shardey.

“Nineteen patients were forced to wait more than two hours before being transferred into the emergency department, with another 542 patients waiting between one and two hours.

“Guidelines published by the Department of Human Services (DHS) state patients should be transferred from an ambulance to the emergency department within 15 minutes – yet another target they have failed to meet.

“Records from ambulance paramedics reveal 32,339 patients in seven months, or more than 150 patients each day, waited longer than the acceptable government guidelines.

“Patients are not only waiting for hours and hours once they enter the emergency department, but now patients are waiting hours before they even go through the doors.

“DHS guidelines state patients are ‘transferred’ if they are moved from an ambulance to a trolley, wheelchair or chair.

“These patients are not even guaranteed immediate medical attention after waiting hours in the back of an ambulance.

“These new figures only compound the existing hospital crisis, showing more than 70,000 Your Hospitals Report 2006/07 patients waited more than eight hours in the emergency department on a trolley before being admitted to a bed.

“Almost 144,000 patients spent more than four hours in the waiting room before being discharged.

“The FoI documents reveal during winter this year, a patient arriving at the Austin Hospital by ambulance was forced to wait more than two and a half hours in the back of the ambulance until almost midnight.

“In the first week of January this year, when temperatures peaked at almost 37°C, a mentally ill patient was left waiting for 2 hours 44 minutes before being transferred into the Royal Melbourne Hospital Mental Health Services in Grattan Street.

“These cases are not isolated incidents. Children have been left waiting two hours in ambulances at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

“Patients were also waiting more than two hours at Dandenong Hospital, Frankston Hospital, Monash Medical Centre, Northern Hospital and Rosebud Hospital.

“These delays are unacceptable and there is only so much the hardworking paramedics and medical staff can do with the limited resources they have.

“This government has had eight years to identify and address key crisis areas in our health system but instead they have dismissed their responsibility and have chosen to blame others.

“Minister Andrews can offer all the excuses he likes – but he cannot avoid the fact that under the Brumby Labor Government our public hospitals and ambulance services have spiraled into crisis.

“Coincidentally, as overcrowding continues and thousands of people wait in pain for treatment, the embattled Health Minster has hidden himself away.

“What will it take for this government to listen, stop dismissing this crisis and actually do something to save our hospitals?” said Mrs Shardey.
How long did patients wait?
No. of patients waiting more than the Government benchmark

Victoria-Wide
· Total Cases 109,011
· ≥ 2 hours 19
· < 2 hours ≤ 1 hour 542
· < 1 hour ≤ 30 minutes 5,088
· < 30 minutes ≤ 15 minutes 32,136
· < 15 minutes 71,226

Hospital Breakdown – patients waiting more than benchmarked time:
Hospital VACIS recorded arrivals Complete records only Number patients waiting ≥ 15 mins Percentage of patient transfers ≥ 15 minutes
Alfred 8,606 2,882 33.5%
Angliss 2,574 316 12.3%
Austin 8,916 3,559 39.9%
Box Hill 7,104 1,908 26.9%
Broadmeadows 118 9 7.6%
Bundoora Extended Care 12 - 0%
Calvary Bethlehem 7 2 28.6%
Casey Hospital 2,853 606 21.2%
Caulfield General 28 3 10.7%
Cranbourne Intensive Care 2 - 0%
Dandenong 7,461 2,709 36.3%
Djerriwarrh 170 12 7.1%
Frankston 9,139 4,641 50.8%
Heidelberg Repatriation 38 3 7.9%
Kingston Centre 37 4 10.8%
Maroondah 6,494 2,105 32.4%
Mercy for Women 277 15 5.4%
Mercy Werribee 2,170 290 13.4%
Monash Medical Centre 10,047 4,638 46.2%
Mt Eliza Aged Care 3 - 0%
Northern 7,054 1,947 27.6%
Peter James Centre 43 2 4.7%
Peter MacCallum 42 14 33.3%
Rosebud 1,689 170 10.1%
Royal Children’s (Other) 8 - 0%
Royal Children’s (Parkville) 2,654 228 8.6%
Royal Dental 13 4 30.8%
Royal Melbourne (Mental Health) 167 32 19.2%
Royal Melbourne (Grattan St) 9,721 2,537 26.1%
Royal Melbourne (Royal Park) 167 44 26.4%
Royal Talbot Rehab 1 1 100%
Royal Vic Eye & Ear 113 5 4.4%
Royal Women’s 677 55 8.1%
Sandringham 1,361 203 14.9%
St Vincent’s 6,355 1,363 21.5%
Sunshine Hospital 5,917 837 14.2%
Upton House Psychiatric 52 2 3.9%
Western 6,588 1,164 17.7%
Williamstown 325 27 8.3%
Yarra Ranges 7 2 28.6%
TOTAL 109,011 32,339 29.7%