Ambulances still ramped at one Melbourne hospital after extreme demand overnight

Ambulance ramping is continuing at a major Melbourne hospital this morning after another night of delays.

A major technology failure created additional delays for some emergency services overnight.

It’s understood there was a problem with the Computer-aided dispatch system.

At 1.38am Ambulance Victoria issued an alert saying they were experiencing extreme demand and there were delays reaching patients in the metropolitan Melbourne area.

After about an hour services returned to normal.

Ambulances are still ramped outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital this morning.

Just after 7am there were four or five ambulances waiting in the bay and another five on the street.

“The paramedics have told me that there’s no patients inside, they’re waiting for their stretchers back because the patients are on stretchers inside the corridor but there’s no beds available, so until they get their stretchers back obviously they can’t leave,” Nine reporter Christine Ahern told Ross and Russel.

“”I’ve been at the Royal Melbourne Hospital a fair few times and I have never seen ambulances parked out on the street like this before.”

A nurse told Christine Ahern the emergency department is “bed blocked” — meaning there are no available beds.

Press PLAY below to hear what’s happening at the Royal Melbourne Hospital

Image: Christine Ahern

Code orange declared in Melbourne’s hospital system ‘two or three times per week’