Brendan Simpkins
A REVIEW into South Australian Ambulance Service’s response times has recommended providing more ambulances, as delays worsened from July to November last year.
In the timeframe, 38 cases were identified where delayed response times had, or had the potential, to become an adverse event.
Of those cases, 10 were determined to have had a poor patient outcome (including death) or significant risk to the patient, 12 were determined to have had potential high risk to the patient and
16 were determined to have had potential risk to the patient.
One of the worst cases resulted in the death of a patient an hour after their arrival at the Lyell McEwin Hospital’s emergency department.
A call was placed to Triple Zero for abdominal pain/problems, fainting or near fainting, with a crew dispatched 37 minutes later.
The crew arrived on scene an hour after the callout, with the patient experiencing abdominal pain, a fast heart rate and was hypothermic.
The patient was treated on scene and transported as a priority 2 with lights and sirens, but passed away an hour later.
Data showed that incidents related to delays or resourcing increased from four in July to 15 in November when the report was compiled.
In recent weeks The Bunyip reported that Gawler is alleged to have the worst response times in the state due to a lack of resources and staff.
On Australia Day, Gawler was without an ambulance crew in town until 8am the next day due to being short-staffed, meaning crews from Elizabeth and Parafield responded to jobs.
Summary remarks in the report stated that SAAS’s response times were “suboptimal”.
“The review highlights that the Ambulance Services’ capacity to provide an adequate response to a specific cohort of patients is suboptimal at times,” it read.
“These patients based on an international triage and dispatch system, require a level of response that is still deemed to be an emergency, or require timely transport to the most appropriate
Emergency Department.
“Due to an increase in demand for SAAS’s services and a lack of response capacity at those times, a delay occurs, putting at risk this cohort of patients.”
