Elderly woman left lying on Victorian hospital hallway floor

A 78-year-old woman was left lying on a mattress on the floor in hospital for more than an hour last night.

The woman was transported to Goulburn Valley Hospital by ambulance, only to be left lying on the mattress in a hallway.

Danny Hill, Secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, said the situation is not good enough.

“She had some sort of underlying infection going on, so fairly unwell and I’d imagine in a bit of discomfort,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

“Even if she wasn’t unwell it’s quite an undignified thing for an elderly patient to have to lie on the floor.”

Mr Hill said ambulance crews were “very concerned” by the request to put the woman on the floor.

“There were about six Victorian ambulance crews that were there,” he said.

“There weren’t enough beds in the emergency department to put any of these patients, so they were ramped, as we say, in the corridor.

“Unfortunately for a 78-year-old lady I think they were doubled down, so they wouldn’t have had an ambulance stretcher to put her on.

“Goulburn Valley Hospital, I’m told, gave the crew an instruction to put the lady on a mattress on the floor in the corridor.

“I don’t think we’ve heard of that occurring ever.”

Mr Hill said a lack of beds is a serious problem at Goulburn Valley Hospital.

“We’re seeing quite a lot of ramping, probably more than we’ve seen in several years,” he said.

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