Townsville woman dies while left waiting hours for ambulance
An investigation has been launched into the death of a woman who was left waiting more than two hours for an ambulance in Townsville.
The Liberal National Party has described the womanās death as āabsolutely shockingā.
The Queensland Ambulance Service is investigating the incident, in which paramedics arrived at a call-out to find a woman dead at Kelso in the southern suburbs of Townsville on Saturday.
Liberal National Party MP Dale Last said the tragedy showed how bad ambulance ramping had become across Queensland.
āThe incident that occurred here in Townsville on the weekend was absolutely shocking,ā he said.
āWhen you dial triple zero in an emergency situation, itās not unreasonable to expect a prompt response.ā
The Burdekin MP said waiting a reported two-and-a-half hours for an ambulance was just ānot good enoughā.
He called on the government to take immediate action to fix the issue.
āThis crisis thatās unfolding in Queensland thatās been going on now for 12 months needs to be addressed ā¦ and the buck stops with the minister,ā he said.
A representative of Health Minister Yvette DāAth said she would not be commenting on the case while it is being investigated.
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The QAS has reported the womanās death to police and launched its own internal probe into the incident.
āFirstly, the Queensland Ambulance Serviceās thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends of this person,ā a QAS spokesman said in a statement to AAP on Thursday.
āWe can confirm that the QAS attended a case on Saturday where a female patient was declared deceased. The QAS is currently undertaking a detailed review of the case.
āOnce complete, this report will be provided to the state coroner, in keeping with long standing QAS organisational practice.ā
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