UPDATE: Ambulance refused for sick child

A spokesperson said the decision not to send an ambulance to the home of  Liza and Robbie Wighton where their 10-year-old son Riley was in pain, was the correct one.

"We regret that the service provided by NSW Ambulance did not meet expectations on this occasion," the statement said.

"NSW Ambulance became aware of this patient complaint (on Monday) and has conducted an initial investigation into the Triple Zero (000) call.  

"The call was received on August 30 by a specially trained call taker at our regional Operations Centre located at Dubbo.

"A review of the NSW Ambulance Triple Zero (000) call undertaken this afternoon identified that based on the information provided by the caller the case was correctly assessed as low acuity case eligible for transfer to Healthdirect Australia for secondary medical assessment and advice.

"If at any time a Healthdirect triaging nurse considers a patient requires ambulance assistance, the call is transferred back to NSW Ambulance to initiate an immediate response. This did not occur in this case.

"Our call takers use an international standard computerised medical triage and dispatch system to prioritise emergency calls. This ensures that ambulances are available to respond to emergency patients. This system provides a specific list of questions for a range of medical issues and circumstances which gives the NSW Ambulance Triple Zero (000) call taker information about the patient, their condition and situation, allowing them to make a sound judgement in triaging the response.

"Some categories of calls, such as in this instance, are transferred to Healthdirect Australia for further medical assessment by a registered nurse and who can provide important medical advice.

"NSW Ambulance’s goal is to ensure the right care and treatment is provided to the right patient at the right time."

EARLIER

A local couple had to drive their 10-year-old son to hospital 10 days ago after they were refused an ambulance after ringing Triple 0.

When Liza and Robbie Wighton rang for an ambulance about 12.30pm on Saturday, August 30, their son, Riley, was in agony. 

After 10 minutes on the telephone, the Wighton’s were told by a nurse in Sydney to take Riley to hospital if he got any worse. 

“The dispatcher asked us three questions,” Liza said.

“He asked what type of pain he had and I said ‘Well he’s screaming, he’s got really bad pain just near his belly button to the right side of his body, and his tummy is really distended.’ It was bad, every time he screamed his toes would curl.”

Liza was told it was not deemed as a medical emergency and the dispatcher put her through to a nurse practitioner. “His tone was very cold,” Liza said. “He wanted me to go over everything again. 

“He said the ambulance was not able to give him (Riley) any more than what I had given him, which I knew wasn’t true, and if he gets any worse I would have to take him to the hospital.”

Liza was then asked if she would like the location of the closest hospital.

“I actually laughed and said ‘Are you kidding?’ I told him that we were in a small town with one hospital that may not have a doctor up there. ‘I rung you guys because I required urgent help and here I am still talking to you’,” Liza said.

Not wanting to hang up, Liza went through the motions of the call, with her son still in agony. 

When the phone call ended there was only disbelief.

“I looked at my husband and said ‘You have to be joking’, and we were all standing here in shock. We just wrapped him up like a caterpillar and we carried him out, and he just screamed.

“We just said ‘Sorry mate, we’re just going to have to do this’. 

The Wightons drove their son to the hospital where they waited for a doctor. Riley has since been examined by the family GP and a diagnosis made.

Shadow Minister for Health Dr Andrew McDonald said there are two rules.

“The mother is almost certainly right, and always act in the interest of the child,” Dr McDonald said.

“I’ve been a paediatrician for 25 years. When I’m confronted by a mother who is anxious a mother with abdominal pain, they’re far more likely to be correct than me when I’ve seen them. The fault should be to send the ambulance rather than not, and this is a kid should have gone by ambulance.”

Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said he was appalled and said he had spoken to the health minister’s office as well as the CEO of Hunter New England Health. He said the matter is under investigation.

Meanwhile Liza had nothing but praise for local paramedics. 

“Inverell paramedics are fantastic. This is an insult to them. They’re expected to come and help us, but how can they come and help us if they don’t know about it?”