“It’s a very sad day when the overcrowded hospital crisis results in a patient passing away waiting in the queue of ambulances ramped at the FMC. Yesterday an elderly patient ramped at Flinders Medical Centre passed away after being on the ramp over an hour.

Old folk are the biggest single cohort of patients left waiting for an ambulance and left waiting on the ramp. This poor soul never made it inside the ED – her and her family should not have had to go through this – it is a denial of basic human rights.

Make no mistake, ramping is at all time high: this is from data supplied to the union by SA Ambulance. Data is one thing, human suffering another – and ramping means that all South Australians are being denied timely access to ambulance care and ED care, but more so older South Aussies.

This has to stop, the public should be contacting their local MP, especially Government MPs, and demand action before more lives are lost.”

-Phil Palmer
Secretary, Ambulance Employees Association – 19/09/2019