A coronial inquest into the unrelated deaths of three people outside Adelaide emergency departments hears 'unrelenting' ramping takes a toll on staff and has caused many to leave.
An emergency department chief has told a coronial inquest that the Royal Adelaide Hospital ED was under pressure at the time of patient Bernard Anthony Skeffington's presentation.
Dr Maria Katrina Romualdez was not involved in the RAH's treatment of Ms Panella, but was acting director of the hospital's emergency department at the time of Mr Skeffington's death.She provided data to the inquest showing there were 87 patients in the ED at the time of Mr Skeffington's presentation at 2:18pm, 62 of which presented between midday and 3pm.
Dr Romualdez said mental health patients were a large contributor to access block in the RAH, with up to a quarter of ED presentations being related to mental health.An inquest into three unrelated deaths of South Australians affected by ambulance ramping has started in Adelaide – including one man who waited in an ambulance for five hours.Dr Romualdez was acting director of the emergency department when the RAH switched to its current location in 2017.
"There were an increasing inability for our admitted patients to access inpatient beds, and that led to many hours of ramping."
Anna Panella Graham Jessett RAH Maria Romualdez ED Emergency Department Coronial Inquest Inquest Coroner Sa Health Royal Adelaide Hospital
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