Elderly woman dies after two-hour wait for Victorian ambulance

Elderly woman dies after waiting two hours for Victorian ambulance

墨尔本西郊老妪两小时苦候救护车，终告不治

In short: A woman in Melbourne's west died after waiting two hours for an ambulance on Friday morning. Ambulance Victoria says the service was under significant operational demand at the time. What's next? The ambulance service says it will launch a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances around the death.

核心摘要：周五清晨，墨尔本西郊一名女子在苦候两小时后离世。维多利亚州救护车服务局（AV）称，事发时服务处于「高度运营负荷」状态。后续：AV 宣布将启动全面调查，彻查该死亡事件的前因后果。

An elderly woman in Melbourne's west died after waiting two hours for paramedics to arrive after a Triple Zero call was triggered. Ambulance Victoria (AV) chief executive Jordan Emery said the woman had a fall in her Hoppers Crossing home on Friday morning but was not attended to for hours.

在触发「零零零」（Triple Zero，澳洲紧急电话）报警后，这名墨尔本西郊的老妇苦等两小时才见医护人员抵达。AV 首席执行官乔丹·埃默里（Jordan Emery）表示，该女子周五清晨在霍珀斯克里辛（Hoppers Crossing）家中跌倒，却数小时无人照料。

"Ambulance Victoria was in a period of significant operational demand and attended that incident approximately two hours after the first initial call was received," Mr Emery said. He promised a "comprehensive review" around the incident and said AV was still not aware of the full circumstances around the woman's death.

埃默里称：「维多利亚州救护车服务正处于一段高度运营负荷期，我们在接到首个初始呼叫约两小时后才抵达现场。」他承诺将对事件进行「全面审查」，并坦言 AV 目前仍未掌握该女子死亡的全部细节。

Mr Emery said the ambulance service was being subjected to a period of "heightened demand" in recent weeks. "That demand has been consistent with other evenings and mornings over the last couple of weeks," Mr Emery said. "We have seen an increase in acuity at various hospitals across Melbourne and the state. We have seen an increase in sickness in our own workforce as a result of winter illness."

埃默里指出，救护车服务近几周正承受「需求激增」的压力。「这种需求与过去几周其他早晚高峰的情况一致。」他表示：「墨尔本及全州各医院的病例严重程度（acuity）有所上升。此外，受冬季疾病影响，我们内部员工病假率也在攀升。」

Mr Emery said 12 additional crews had been rostered on in recent days to cope with the demand. He said AV had been in contact with the woman's family and offered his sincere condolences. Victoria Police are now preparing a report for the coroner following the death of the Hoppers Crossing woman.

为应对需求，埃默里称近日已增派 12 个救援小组轮班值守。他表示 AV 已与死者家属取得联系，并致以诚挚哀悼。维多利亚警方正就霍珀斯克里辛女子的死因向验尸官（coroner）提交报告。

"A woman aged in her 90s was located deceased inside the property on Rudolph Street about 7am," a Victoria Police spokesperson said. "The death is not being treated as suspicious."

警方发言人称：「约早上 7 点，警方在鲁道夫街（Rudolph Street）的一处房产内发现一名 90 多岁女子已死亡。」「该死亡事件目前不被视为可疑。」

A Triple Zero Victoria spokesperson said the initial emergency call from an alarm company was answered immediately and passed onto Ambulance Victoria. "There were no delays in TZV answering or actioning the alarm company's 000 [Triple Zero] call, which was answered within seconds and referred to AV's secondary triage services team based on the information provided by the caller and in accordance with AV’s protocols," the spokesperson said.

Triple Zero Victoria 发言人表示，来自报警公司的初始紧急电话被立即接听并转接至救护车服务局。「TZV 在接听或处理报警公司的 000 呼叫时并无延误，该电话在数秒内被接听，并根据呼叫者提供的信息及 AV 协议，转介至 AV 的二级分诊服务团队。」

Victoria's Triple Zero system was overhauled in 2022 and rebranded following widespread failures. A review conducted from October 2021 to May 2022 of the state's Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority found at least 12 people died in the period while while waiting for an ambulance. The review saw the service rebranded as Triple Zero Victoria and $333 million invested by the government into improving the system and hiring more call-takers.

维多利亚州的 Triple Zero 系统曾在 2022 年经历彻底整改并更名，此前该体系曾曝出广泛性故障。一项针对州紧急服务电信管理局（2021 年 10 月至 2022 年 5 月）的审查发现，在此期间至少有 12 人在等待救护车时死亡。该审查促使服务更名为 Triple Zero Victoria，政府亦投入 3.33 亿澳元用于系统升级及增聘接线员。