Doubts raised over fix-it plan for Flinders ramping

A woman who fears ambulance ramping contributed to her mother’s death doubts the South Australian Government’s new plan will curb the problem at Flinders.

Under the plan, a separate mental health area will be created, patients with chest pain will be seen immediately by a senior doctor, there will be three more cardiac beds and pregnant women over 20 weeks will be fast tracked.

Kerry Henderson said her sick mother was ramped for hours at Flinders Medical Centre earlier this year, and died 24 hours after being admitted.

She cannot see how the strategy will work.

“If you go in with a heart attack, you’re seen immediately, and if you’re pregnant and there’s a problem you’re seen immediately,” she said.

The government said it is consulting with staff and will take up to six months to implement the changes.

The Nursing Federation has welcomed the mental health space, but wants more to be done.

“You can’t just implement one or two strategies or even three or four,” Elizabeth Dabars from the federation said.

“This requires a multitude of strategies.”

There were 52 recommendations on how to fix the problem in a report by an emergency physician.

A spokesperson for the Health Minister said all of those recommendations have been accepted, and most implemented.