A WARRNAMBOOL man in his 70s has waited for hours in an ambulance to be admitted to Warrnambool's emergency department.
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He called for an ambulance at 4.30pm on Tuesday to be transported to Warrnambool Base Hospital's emergency department, but when his daughter called the hospital about 7pm he hadn't been admitted.
"His ambulance was ramped," the daughter said.
The man was still in the ED at 8am the following morning.
Ambulance Victoria said it could not comment on the situation.
A South West Healthcare spokeswoman said it could not comment on the matter due to the man's right to privacy.
"The Warrnambool Base Hospital continues to be among the best in the state for transferring patients from an ambulance to emergency within 40 minutes of arrival," the spokeswoman said.
"The state target is 90 per cent and SWH is at 99 per cent.
"However, there will be occasions when a patient cannot be taken directly through to the ED, depending on their condition or situation and/or the availability of treatment rooms and facilities for that condition."
The spokeswoman said any patients, including those unable to be moved from an ambulance stretcher to the emergency department, were still screened and cared for.
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It comes as code one call-outs for ambulances in Warrnambool increased by more than 30 per cent, double the state average.
Code one calls-outs are designated to patients requiring time-critical or a high-priority response where ambulances use lights and sirens.
Over the last three months of the 2021/22 financial year, AV data showed there was a 33.8 per cent increase from the same time last year.
This compared to a 16 per cent increase statewide to 97,928 cases, which was 4694 more than the previous quarter. The spike in demand led to a drop in response times with ambulances arriving within 15 minutes 82.5 per cent of the time, down from 90.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
"Response times were faster in the Warrnambool major population centre, with paramedics reaching 83.1 per cent of code one patients within 15 minutes," AV said.
"The average response time to code one patients was 11 minutes and 46 seconds."
AV said statewide the average response time to code one patients was 11 minutes and 59 seconds.
AV Barwon South West regional director Terry Marshall said the soaring demand could be attributed to the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, sicker patients deferring care and absent staff.
"There are no signs of demand slowing down through winter," he said.
"COVID-19 continues to pose a high risk to Victorians and will do some for some time."
South West Healthcare reported in July it expected peak demand for presentations at Warrnambool Base Hospital's ED but said it wasn't COVID-19 case driven.
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