The ramping crisis which first emerged in Adelaide 15 years ago is 'not about people coming in with a cut finger' but a global issue requiring broader solutions than bigger hospitals, an inquest into the deaths of three people has heard.
Senior medical experts have told an inquest into three ramping-related deaths that the practice is a global issue requiring broader solutions than just bigger hospitals.
Documents filed with the Coroners Court have outlined the history of the phenomenon and noted other deaths linked to ambulance ramping and delayed ambulance response times in recent years.According to government figures, the number of hours ambulances spent ramped in October dropped to 2,983 — the lowest level since October 2021.
Professor Kelly said emergency departments were "otherwise unpredictable", but that ramping usually peaked in winter — when colds and flu were rampant — because more older patients with those conditions required admission. "But it's also about optimising other things like flowing out of hospitals, about aged care … about timely aged care assistance."Photo shows An elderly man with glasses holding a baby while sitting. Second photo a man holds up a glass of beer in a pub.
By May 23, 2011, crews were being asked to ramp externally in ambulances outside FMC, prompting the union to implement a "case card ban" and withhold the billing information of patients, so they could not be charged for the service. She said ramping concerns had continued at metropolitan hospitals ever since, and had even reached the hospital at Mount Gambier, in the state's south-east.
Ms Watkins gave examples of ramping-related deaths, including a patient who died in a residential aged care facility after waiting five hours for an ambulance to arrive.Ms Watkins revealed the longest she knew of a patient being ramped was 15 hours, but said the union had also received "multiple reports of crews and their patients being ramped for around 10-12 hours".
"It is also even putting the community at risk. So, there has to be a better approach, a better way of solving this problem." "There's nothing good about ramping, but there's nothing good about waiting full stop and ramping is a form of waiting." "So, there are some natural, if you like, inefficiencies that are created in terms of patient management in an ambulance," he said.
Inquest Anna Panella Bernard Skeffington Graham Jessett RAH FMC Leah Watkins Emergency Department ED Ramping Death Matthew Wright
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