{"id":72394,"date":"2026-08-15T04:17:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T04:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/72394\/"},"modified":"2026-08-15T04:17:32","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T04:17:32","slug":"ballarat-emergency-department-staff-say-recent-death-highlights-health-system-failures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/72394\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballarat emergency department staff say recent death highlights health system failures"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ballarat Base Hospital staff say the death of a man left unattended in the emergency department (ED) waiting room highlights the catastrophic issues facing the regional hospital.<\/p>\n

Multiple ED staff have told the ABC that a man came to the hospital in July by ambulance and required oxygen.<\/p>\n

The ABC understands the man was removed from the ambulance so paramedics could get back on the road, leaving the man seated in the ED waiting room.<\/p>\n

While he waited, the patient had a cardiac arrest and was moved to a resuscitation area through the waiting room.<\/p>\n

The incident was witnessed by numerous other people in the waiting room, leaving some of them reportedly traumatised by what they saw.<\/p>\n

A staff member said the man died later in a different hospital.<\/p>\n

Grampians Health told the ABC it “respects the privacy of our patients and is unable to provide details or comment on individual cases”.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said the hospital recognised the challenges facing everyone in emergency.<\/p>\n

“We recognise these pressures are challenging for both patients and staff,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

“Owing to heightened demand for emergency care, some patients who require admission to hospital may experience extended waits for an inpatient bed.<\/p>\n

“This is not the experience we want for our patients and improving access to beds and reducing delays remain a key priority.<\/p>\n

“We also look forward to additional capacity that will be made possible through the Ballarat Base Hospital redevelopment.”<\/p>\n

The ABC understands the redevelopment of the Ballarat Base Hospital is due to be completed in late 2027.<\/p>\n

“Our deepest condolences are with the patient’s family and loved ones during this difficult time,” a Victorian government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

\"Bags<\/p>\n

Staff say emergency workers at the Ballarat Base Hospital are leaving in droves.\u00a0 (ABC News: Jake Grant)<\/p>\n

‘No-one is coming to help us’<\/p>\n

A doctor, Andy, whose name has been changed to protect their identity, said they remembered seeing the patient in the corridor because the ED was full.<\/p>\n

“It’s a chronic pressure cooker,” they said.<\/p>\n

“[There’s] pressure to get Ambulance Victoria back on the road and to accept management of patients in corridors.<\/p>\n

“I was furious that this was yet another example of the system failing patients and the staff.”<\/p>\n

An ED staffer, Steve, whose name has also been changed to protect their identity, said the pressures on staff were “unsustainable, and it’s really horrible”.<\/p>\n

“No-one is coming to help us,” they said.<\/p>\n

“[Some patients] are sitting there for hours and hours and hours.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want a health system like that.<\/p>\n

“If we don’t do something about it, what are we going to have left?<\/p>\n

“It’s atrocious. I can’t do my job properly.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Ballarat Base Hospital. (ABC News: Rochelle Kirkham)<\/p>\n

Staff in the Ballarat Base Hospital ED say they recognise the issues are system-wide and statewide.<\/p>\n

The Australian Medical Association recently said five regional Victorian hospitals were showing signs of system failure, while doctors on the ground say they are at breaking point.<\/a><\/p>\n

About 3,300 patients across the state were admitted to emergency departments from January to March this year and stayed in the ED for at least 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Of these, 2,330 patients, or 70 per cent, were in regional and rural hospitals.<\/p>\n

The highest numbers were in Ballarat, Albury, which services many Victorians, and Bendigo.<\/p>\n

The health department’s performance target is zero patients spending more than 24 hours in an ED.<\/p>\n

More news from regional Victoria’Three nights in a corridor’\"Two<\/p>\n

Ballarat Base staff say the hospital is in desperate need of more inpatient beds.\u00a0 (ABC News: Keane Bourke)<\/p>\n

Steve said many staff were leaving.<\/p>\n

“We’re definitely losing some really good people who are going to be missed,” he said.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great team [and] there’s really good people. That’s why I keep turning up.<\/p>\n

“But it’s getting harder and harder to do that [because of] that feeling of making people wait, or seeing someone sleep three nights in a corridor.”<\/p>\n

Andy said it was a known fact among ED staff that executive hospital staff do not like visiting the ED because it “makes them feel uncomfortable”.<\/p>\n

In response to these claims, Grampians Health said its clinical directors provided daily support and were regularly present in the emergency department.<\/p>\n

“Executive leaders remain actively engaged and are committed to supporting our teams while continuing to focus on driving improvements that enhance patient flow and access to care across the hospital,” a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Andy said their child was recently ill, but because the hospital was “so critically unsafe” they were hesitant to take them there.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t trust my colleagues,” they said.\"a<\/p>\n

One Ballarat Base doctor says emergency is like working in “a constant pressure cooker”. (ABC News: Daryl Torpe)<\/p>\n

“The department is so unsafe, the conditions mean that we can’t do our jobs.<\/p>\n

“It’s not because the clinicians are bad, it’s because the system is setting us up to fail.”<\/p>\n

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