Melbourne man dies after waiting four hours for an ambulance during a major shortage

Shattered friends and family have demanded answers after an elderly man suffered a painful and lonely death while waiting hours for an ambulance.

Neighbours called triple-0 at about 2am Sunday after hearing Philip’s Burne’s yells for help after he suffered a bad fall.

Stretched resources meant that paramedics couldn’t get to his Surrey Hills home in Melbourne’s west until 6am.

But by then, it was too late.

Mr Burne, 69, was a regular patron at Ringwood RSL, where mates gathered for a beer in his honour on Monday.

But they’re also angry at the thought that his tragic death may have been avoided had more Victoria Ambulance crews had been on road on Saturday night.

At least 50 crews across the state were out of action during the shift due to a high number of paramedics on sick leave.

‘Four hours is absolutely ridiculous,’ one mate told Nine News.

At least 50 crews across the state were out of action during the shift due to a high number of paramedics on sick leave

‘He was one of our own.’ 

Fellow club member David Jamieson added: ‘It’s pretty awful that someone lies in a house on the floor and has to wait four hours for an ambulance and have no one to call.

‘For the older cohort, they rely on the emergency services to ensure their health needs are met. 

‘When it fails it can be catastrophic, as it was in this case. It’s really sad and frankly, we all got to do better.’

Ambulance Victoria has launched a review into Mr Burne’s death, which will be referred to the coroner.

‘The demand is high at the moment but we prioritise our care to the sickest and most vulnerable patients in the community,’ Ambulance Victoria acting chief executive Danielle North told reporters.

‘We certainly experienced an increase in personal leave over the course of the weekend, it was unpredictable, the level we received.’

By the time the ambulance arrived at Mr Burne’s home (pictured), it was too late

Questions have been raised as Ambulance Victoria didn’t trigger a code orange, which would have activated extra measures to help paramedics.

The major shortage has left overworked paramedics ‘burnt out and exhausted’, according to Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill.

‘You’re always going to get higher absenteeism, more people off on sick leave when crews don’t get their meal breaks, they don’t get off shift on time, their workload is out of control,’ he said.

He earlier described Mr Burne’s death as ‘incredibly sad’ not only for his family but for paramedics who want to be able to help patients.

He also admitted the tragedy could have been avoided. 

‘But with resources so stretched, the workload being what it is, it’s just become impossible,’ Mr Hill told the Herald Sun.

‘You can never predict what would have happened had paramedics gotten there sooner.

‘But, by all accounts he was calling out, so you expect that the situation may have been much different had we got to the gentleman on time.’