Even with limited COVID-19 cases, almost every aspect of the system is already deteriorating: ambulance responses, mental health, urgent treatment. What’s going on? | INVESTIGATION
It was the type of tragedy that should never happen in Melbourne. A young mother was rushed to the Werribee Mercy Hospital by ambulance but instead of getting the critical emergency care she needed she was forced to wait.
Western Australia, which has been COVID-free for months, announced this week it would postpone about half of elective surgeries amid fears the state would be overwhelmed in the event of a fresh outbreak.in her Caulfield North apartment in April after it took an ambulance more than six hours to respond to her triple-zero call.
Victorian Ambulance Union state secretary Danny Hill described his members’ working conditions as “almost dystopian”. Some paramedics were forced to eat meals inside ambulances that had just transported COVID patients, or at service stations without proper facilities.Paramedics are so overworked some are being forced to eat meals at service stations during shifts, says the ambulance union.
“I remember saying at the time ‘what surge capacity?’ because hospitals across Victoria were already running at full capacity,” he says.Jason South Hospitals have been underfunded for years, he says, leading to bed and staffing shortages. Problems with the federal government-administered National Disability Insurance Scheme and aged care have not helped – patients are stuck in wards waiting for mandatory assessments to enter both systems, locking up hundreds of hospital beds every week. The latest figures show the Commonwealth only puts in 36 per cent of the total cost of public hospitals, while the state pays 57 per cent.
This played out at the Royal Melbourne Hospital last week, when 450 staff were forced into isolation after a COVID-infected man, who wasn’t tested before surgery, sparked an outbreak at the Parkville facility. As authorities scrambled to contain the cluster, emergency staff were put in place and ambulances diverted to other hospitals for all but the most serious cases.
Patients are raising concerns about the quality of care. Box Hill resident Julie Rowland*, an 84-year-old widow, was last year one of thousands of Victorians sent a taxi instead of a paramedic to transport her to emergency as part of an Ambulance Victoria overhaul designed to free up vehicles from taking on non-urgent cases.
“Services are so saturated, both public and private,” he says. “It really should very rarely come to a person having to present to an emergency department, but unfortunately now it almost always comes to that.” “Children’s needs aren’t being met ... and you’ve got all these desperate parents really wanting support for their kids and getting frustrated because they feel like they can’t get the help that they need,” says Rebecca Thomas, co-founder of Shine Bright Psychology, which caters for school-aged children. “That puts a lot of pressure on psychologists as well because we have this huge influx of work that we just can’t keep up with. We simply don’t have the workforce.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
NSW records 1288 cases of COVID-19 as seven million vaccine target hit70 per cent of the state has now received their first vaccine dose and from 5am tomorrow, exercise will no longer be limited to one hour in Sydney hotspot suburbs. However, the curfew will still apply. 9News
Read more »
Vic COVID-19 cases hits more than 200, one new deathBREAKING: Victoria has recorded another climb in daily coronavirus cases and an additional COVID-related death as some residents enjoy a little freedom with an easing of two restrictions.
Read more »
NSW shatters COVID-19 records again with 1,431 new local cases and 12 deathsNSW has recorded 1,431 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 12 more deaths, including an unvaccinated woman in her 30s.
Read more »
No new COVID-19 cases in Queensland amid concern in southeastQueensland has recorded no new cases of COVID-19 despite concerns about two infected truck drivers and a family accused of making an illegal trip to Victoria and back.
Read more »
WATCH LIVE: NSW Premier announces latest COVID-19 casesPremier Gladys Berejiklian will announce the latest coronavirus in New South Wales. The state recorded 1,288 coronavirus cases and seven additional deaths on Thursday. Join Sky News Australia live from 11am for the press conference.
Read more »
Victoria records 176 local COVID-19 cases as families set for small reprieveThe number of active cases in the state passed 1000 before playgrounds across the state reopen and in-home care will be allowed for some school-aged children from 11.59pm.
Read more »