Ambulance workers and executives are meeting daily to try and resolve their pay dispute, as the Victorian government investigates an unprecedented incident in a hospital corridor. or signup to continue reading Specialist paramedics were called to treat a cardiac patient inside a hospital corridor on Tuesday because the emergency department was full. The situation unfolded at Maroondah Hospital, in Melbourne's east, when ramped paramedics were forced to call an ambulance themselves after attempts to admit their patient failed.
Victorian Health Minster Mary-Anne Thomas said she has asked for a full investigation into "exactly what happened". "I've never heard anything like this before and it was very concerning to me," she told reporters at parliament on Wednesday. "I have made it very clear to both Eastern Health and Ambulance Victoria that I want to know exactly what has gone on here so we can do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't happen again.
" The patient was "doing well" and ultimately did not require admission to hospital, Ms Thomas said. Premier Jacinta Allan echoed Ms Thomas' concerns, saying "protocol was not followed in this instance". Ambulance Victoria chief executive Andrew Crisp said an intensive care ambulance responded under lights and sirens to treat the patient in the hospital corridor.
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said the incident demonstrated the "extreme crisis" unfolding in the Victorian health system. "It's a cardiac patient.