A damning report has revealed the list of failures that left a grandfather ramped at a hospital for hours before he died in Queensland.
Wayne Irving was suffering chest pains and taken to Ipswich Hospital on a busy Thursday night in November, where he was in one of several ambulances lined up at the emergency department.
The 67-year-old was left waiting for about three hours, in which his condition worsened and he eventually died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.
A West Moreton Health review into his death handed down a report yesterday which found there had been several failures in the care provided to Irving.
The failures included not conducting a medical review in the required initial 30 minutes, considering abdominal aortic aneurysm as a diagnosis or providing appropriate pain relief.
“We assured the family that this is an important lesson we are committed to learning from and outlined the actions that have, and will, be taken,” West Moreton Health chief executive Hannah Bloch said.
The report’s recommendations included introducing commanders to oversee patients on the ramp and using Irving’s death as a case study for triage training to improve timely and compassionate care.
The recommendations will all be fulfilled by the end of July, West Moreton Health said.
His heartbroken wife, Barbara Irving, said the death of the “kind-hearted” man she knew just wasn’t fair.
“No one knew what was wrong with him, no body made any effort to find out,” she told 9News.
Premier Steven Miles said the public the health department would work to improve services while Opposition Leader David Crisafulli questioned why the government had failed to staff hospitals that desperately need it.
A summary of the recommendations can be read here.
