Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman is committed to implementing any recommendations from an investigation into the death of a man who waited for a hospital bed in the back of an ambulance for three hours.
Wayne Irving, a 67-year-old foster carer, had his wife, Barbara, call an ambulance at about 7:30pm on Thursday after suffering from chest pain.
Paramedics arrived at their home in Coulson within 30 minutes but once they arrived at Ipswich Hospital Mr Irving was left to wait for a bed in the back of the ambulance for hours.
Mr Irving’s pain continued to rise as he slipped in and out of consciousness while waiting to be admitted.
Eventually at 12:15am Mr Iriving was admitted to the hospital but died before he made it into the emergency department.
“It is with much sadness that we write this devastating post that last night, Wayne passed away unexpectedly,” the family wrote in a social media post.
“Please be patient while his family comes to terms with his loss. We appreciate all the love and messages from everyone.”
Friends of the family flooded the post with messages of support.
“We are so saddened by this news. Wayne was a lovely kind person and will be greatly missed. Condolences to his family at this terrible time,” wrote one.
“RIP Wayne you will always be remembered as a kind, hardworking man and so proud of his family which he totally adored. I’m so truly saddened by this heartbreaking news,” added another.
The family was reportedly unaware Mr Irving never reached the emergency department saying they were “blindsided and lied to by the hospital”.
“I don’t understand in this day and age in our country we can’t get good health care, it makes no sense,” Mr Irving’s daughter, Lauren Hansford, said.
“I’m just gobsmacked, he didn’t present with a broken leg, like, it was serious and he was left outside to die in an ambulance, and then they couldn’t even tell me that.”
Health Minister Fentiman said there would be a clinical review into Mr Irving’s death.
“Ambulance ramping isn’t just a number, there are real consequences when Queensland ambulances are ramped for hours on end,” she said, ABC News reported.
“Tragically, Queenslanders are paying with their lives because Labor has the wrong priorities.
“The LNP has put solutions on the table to heal the Queensland health crisis including more resources, better triaging, releasing data in real-time and putting doctors and nurses back in charge to improve patient care.”
(SKY NEWS)
