Man Has Fatal Heart Attack During Ambulance Diversion

The elderly man, who had a lengthy medical history, was transported from Mooloolah on the Sunshine Coast on Friday at Caloundra Hospital. The ambulance crew was told that if it chose to wait, referred to as being "ramped", there would be a long wait until the patient could be brought in and put onto a bed.

The patient was then transported to Nambour hospital, approximately ten minutes away. He did not make it to the next hospital and lost his life enroute.

Queensland Health has argued that the Queensland Ambulance Service did not advise the hospital the man was a Category One cardiac arrest patient and would have accepted the patient had they known.

There is now a dispute between the ambulance company and the hospital regarding this incident. It is an obvious case of a communication breakdown. Queensland Health feels that they were not informed that this patient was in dire need of medical treatment.

The ambulance company is upset because they feel that they would have been "ramped" and the wait would have been dangerous for the patient if they stayed. They made the choice and left to try another hospital.

Queensland Health and the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) have now ordered internal investigations into the alleged incident.