The family of a man who died in his Brisbane home, waiting two hours for an ambulance, only found out about delays to his care through the media.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls said he was made aware on Monday of the 53-year-old Annerley man’s death, which happened on Saturday.
However, he did not publicly address the incident until news reports broke of the death.
The man called Triple Zero (000) on Saturday evening, experiencing chest pains.
Paramedics arrived two hours later and found him dead inside the home in Brisbane’s south, just streets away from the Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Mr Nicholls initially said the man’s family were “disturbed to find out” of delays to his care through news reports on Thursday.
But his office later clarified the minister had been referring to a lack of information about the medical care he received.
“The family have reached out overnight and have seen the story in the media, and I think understandably are distressed about that, and I understand that,” Mr Nicholls said.
“I apologise to them if that has caused them distress.
“One of the challenges that we faced was that the gentleman who passed away in Annerley was not known to Queensland Health and there were no contact details.”
Tim Nicholls says he apologises to the family and hopes to address their concerns at a meeting. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)
Opposition leader Steven Miles criticised the confusion and lack of information sharing from the government.
“This is the result of the ramping that is out of control in our Queensland hospitals and that ramping is costing lives,” he said.
“He should have had paramedics at his house in minutes, not in hours.
“The most important thing when something goes wrong is that you are up-front and honest with the victim’s family, and they shouldn’t be put through further trauma by being lied to and having to find out information from the media.”
The 53-year-old’s family will meet with top Queensland Ambulance Service officials on Friday afternoon, and a review of the incident has been ordered.
A man in his 80s also died waiting for care on Tuesday, waiting for a bed at the Mater Hospital for approximately three hours.
“It is unacceptable, and I hope and expect that the critical incident review will provide us with answers as to how these circumstances occurred, why they occurred, and, of course, recommendations to improve the service and to address any issues that may be revealed,” Mr Nicholls said.
The opposition in parliament on Friday interrogated when the health minister was made aware of the cases.
Review ordered after man dies waiting two hours for ambulance
Mr Nicholls today revealed he was notified of the Annerley man’s death on Monday.
“I immediately sought further information from the Queensland Ambulance Service as to what had occurred in respect to that matter,” he said.
“Again, one of the challenges was that there was little information in relation to the gentleman’s contacts and family details.
“I received a further briefing on Tuesday and was kept updated on attempts made to contact people during the course of the week.”
He said the reviews of each death were underway and expected it to be a “fairly rapid process”.