By Priscilla Moca
A Sydenham woman’s excruciating two-hour wait for an ambulance after breaking her leg has sparked more calls for Ambulance Victoria to “admit there is a problem”.
Margaret O’Donnell, 78, was in her kitchen on Derby Day when she fell and was unable to stand up.
Her daughter, Christine Richardson, said she called for an ambulance at least three times as paramedics struggled to keep up with what Ambulance Victoria said was a rush stemming from Derby Day festivities.
“Mum is pretty tough … she handles pain well, but her muscles kept going into spasms and she was shaking and worried about her back,” Ms Richardson said on 3AW.
“It’s pretty horrible to see your mum in that state and also to see your dad so concerned … he was lying there holding her head.”
An ambulance from Sunshine arrived about 10pm.
Ambulance Employees Australia secretary Danny Hill said the case showed how stressed the ambulance service was.
“Although the patient would’ve been in a lot of pain, and that’s a significant issue itself, it was also a time-critical case,” Mr Hill said.
“The concern of a long bone fracture in her femur is that it can cause the release of toxic substances into the bloodstream.”
Mr Hill said the state government needed to acknowledge that ambulance resources were being pushed to their limits.
“Right now they’re an ostrich system, with their head in the sand not willing to listen to any advice,” he said.
Ambulance Victoria has apologised to
Mrs O’Donnell and her family and offered to meet them to discuss the case.
