Mum's agonising wait for ambo
A Melbourne mother has told 7News she feared her sick daughter was going to die after enduring an agonising wait for an ambulance.
Kristy Harrison, of Meadow Heights, said it took almost half-an-hour for paramedics to arrive and treat her 11-month-old baby, Bella, for a seizure.
The young mum says she called Triple 0 at 10.08pm when Bella's health began to rapidly deteriorate, but was told ambulances from nearby stations were not available.
Instead, crews were dispatched from Sunbury and Footscray, arriving at 10.36pm.
Bella was treated at the scene, and then taken to the Royal Children's Hospital, arriving at 11.09pm - one hour and one minute from the original emergency call.
"I thought I was going to lose her," Kristy told reporter Michael Scanlan choking back tears.
"She was starting to change colour, by 35 minutes into it, she was starting to go white, her lips were starting to go blue."
The Ambulance Union blames ramping for the long wait.
"There are examples everyday where there's delays right around the state, not just in metro Melb but also rural Victoria," Victorian Secretary for Ambulance Employees Australia Steve McGhie said.
Kristy says she understands ambulance crews were busy on Sunday night and doesn't blame paramedics for taking the time they did.
She says she is angry at the Victorian Government for failing to provide the necessary resources, which she claims almost cost her daughter her life.
"The Government needs to wake up to themselves and stop wasting money on things that don't need to be done," she said.
"This girl is our everything, and to think we were going to lose her, I don't want any parent to have to go through that.
"We live in fear now. Is she going to have another seizure? Are they going to get to her in time? I don't know if I trust the ambulance service anymore."
Ambulance Victoria says it will investigate the matter, and will review recordings of emergency call to determined what happened.
Regional manager for metro west region Simon Thomson said: "We do work to ensure that the closest ambulance is sent as soon as possible.
"We're certainly concerned about the time it took for us to arrive and we're currently reviewing the case and we'll look at all the circumstances surrounding our attendance."
