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Patients bound to die waiting for hospital |
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Written by Les Fawkes
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Thursday, 18 February 2010 |
Former
Maleny ambulance paramedic, Peter Griffey has warned thatit is only a
matter of time before a seriously ill Sunshine Coast resident dies
before an ambulance can get them to hospital.

| | Former Maleny Paramedic, Peter Griffey | During peak periods on the Sunshine Coast there are only approximately 25 ambulances to service the whole Sunshine Coast region which includes the Sunshine Coast hinterland.
Of these 25 units it is not uncommon for more than half to be unavailable because they are transporting patients between hospitals or are actually awaiting hospitals to see patients that they already have “onboard”.
Peter Griffey is a spokesman for the ambulance union. He stated that further ambulance resources are lost to the Sunshine Coast Region when they are sent to backup surrounding ambulance regions such as the Redcliffe area.
Mr. Griffey is calling for the Sunshine Coast University Hospital to be built at Kawana sooner rather than later to help with the increasing patient backload.
He continued, “When there is an emergency, every minute counts.”
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 18 February 2010 )
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