A Merimbula woman has spoken out about the tragic loss of her husband and her experience with ambulance waiting times. Trish Moxon spoke up following the News Weekly story (20/12/2017) about the paramedic roster that is leaving Merimbula without adequate cover.
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Ms Moxon was at home with her husband Keith on July 1, 2017, when he went into cardiac arrest.
“I rang triple 000 at 1726 hours and the ambulance was assigned at 1731 hours and also responded at 1731 hours. Paramedics arrived at my home at 1750 hours,” Ms Moxon said.
“During this time I performed CPR on my husband but tragically he could not be revived. Four ambulance officers attended at my home and I know that two of them were from Eden and they confirmed to me that they were dispatched from Eden.
“I live a short distance from the Merimbula Ambulance Station and was surprised that there wasn't a crew available seeing it was around 5.30pm on a Saturday evening. I remember reading news reports around this time that there was an issue with paramedic rostering at Merimbula,” Ms Moxon said.
“I hope that some other soul does not have to go through my experience of trying to revive a loved one while waiting for an essential service to arrive.”
I hope that some other soul does not have to go through my experience.
- Trish Moxon
Unfortunately Ms Moxon’s story didn’t end there because she had to call for an ambulance again on July 4.
“My mother, who is in her late 70's, arrived in Merimbula to attend my husband's funeral. Whilst leaving my house she fell down a couple of stairs and suffered a severe cut on her leg and a swollen ankle. I rang the ambulance at 1812 hours and it arrived at my house at 1846 hours. A total of 34 minutes,” Ms Moxon said.
“Again, the attending crew was from Eden and one of the paramedics had attended at my house on the evening my husband passed away.
“My mother was eventually taken to South Eastern Regional Hospital in Bega where she was admitted and received 32 stitches in her leg and treated for three fractures in her ankle. The time frame of 34 minutes I believe is unacceptable seeing it was early evening on a Tuesday.”
A NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said that on July 1, NSW Ambulance received a Triple Zero (000) call at 5.26pm for a 65-year-old man in Merimbula who was reported to have collapsed.
“Two paramedic crews responded at 5.31pm. The Eden paramedic crew responded from Eden station and the Merimbula paramedic crew from South East Regional Hospital after transferring another patient. The Merimbula crew arrived on scene at 5.50pm,” the spokeswoman said.
“It is not uncommon for paramedic crews to respond from one patient to the next rather than from their local ambulance station. This is an operational feature of ambulance services throughout Australia and overseas,” the spokeswoman added.
“On July 4, NSW received a Triple Zero (000) call at 6.12pm requesting a paramedic attend the same address for a 75-year-old woman with a leg injury.
“Based on the information provided by the caller, the call was correctly assessed as requiring an ambulance response within 30 minutes without the use of lights and siren.
“The closest available paramedic responded from Eden arriving on scene at 6.46pm,” the spokeswoman said.
