PATIENTS needing ambulance transport from Blayney are experiencing potentially dangerous delays because of understaffing and a decision to divert patients to Orange and Bathurst Base Hospitals.
Ambulances have been bypassing Blayney Hospital since the emergency department was left without a doctor earlier this year.
Residents and health sources said, with just two ambulance officers on duty at a time and none on call, Blayney’s ambulance station was being left unattended and patients were being made to wait while alternative transport was sent from Orange or Bathurst.
One employee in the health sector, who did not want to be named, said Blayney’s ambulance station was left unattended for at least an hour and 20 minutes for every trip the Blayney ambulance crew had to make to Orange or Bathurst.
However, the amount of time without ambulance cover could be several hours if there were no beds available at either hospital or if the Blayney ambulance crew was asked to attend another emergency in Orange or Bathurst.
In one recent example the Blayney ambulance crew was forced to wait at Bathurst hospital for several hours before they could offload a patient with a heart complaint.
“If they’re being used by Orange or Bathurst, they’re often gone all day,” the source said.
“It’s bad enough that they have no-one else on, but if they’re being used by Orange or Bathurst it’s even worse.
“There’s a time delay. It’s incredibly dangerous and it’s potentially fatal.”
The Health Services Union has confirmed the problem and acting industrial services manager Bob Morgan said the union had raised the matter with the NSW Ambulance Service.
Chair of the Blayney Health Council Audrey Hardman said the lack of ambulance cover was made worse without a local doctor.
“It is a very serious issue ... and it’s only got worse,” she said.
“It is one of the biggest problems we have in Blayney at the moment.”
Blayney mayor Bruce Kingham said he blamed the Greater Western Area Health Service for not providing an emergency department doctor for Blayney hospital.
“If people from Blayney want an ambulance and call triple-0 and the ambulance is ourt of town they’ve got to wait for an ambulance to come from Orange or Bathurst,” he said.
“This is because we don’t have a doctor in our emergency department.
“If we had a doctor, they could go straight to Blayney.”
The Greater Western Area Health Service yesterday directed inquiries to the NSW Ambulance Service.
A spokesperson for the NSW Ambulance Service said Blayney’s ambulance station had four full-time paramedics, which was a full contingency of staff.
“This allows for two paramedics on duty each day, with after-hours being covered by paramedics rostered on call,” he said.
“However, ambulance continually monitors and reviews incident trends in rural and remote areas of the state.
“[NSW] ambulance can redeploy ambulances from other locations if necessary and we will continue to monitor activity levels to determine if a reallocation is required.”
The spokesperson said once Blayney’s ambulance crew had offloaded patients in Orange or Bathurst they were expected to return to Blayney.
“If there is an emergency call and the Blayney ambulance is the nearest available vehicle to respond to the emergency they will be assigned to attend and stand by until another ambulance arrives,” he said.
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