Sydney woman, Robyn Williams was attending the Gulgong Dog Show on August 8 when she slipped on a rise in the ground and fell, breaking her arm badly enough that she required surgery. 

After calling an ambulance which traveled from Mudgee as the one in Gulgong was attending another patient, Mrs Williams was taken to Mudgee Hospital where she was told the break required surgery and  the hospital did not have the facilities to complete the surgery.

“They then told me that I needed to get myself to Dubbo,” she said.

“I was on morphine so I was a little out of it and didn’t quite understand how I was supposed to do that and why an ambulance or hospital transport couldn’t take me,” she said. 

Mrs Williams was transported between Mudgee, and Dubbo by friend Don Mahoney.

Mr Mahoney said it was an interesting scenario with doctors telling him Mrs Williams would have to be driven as they had no idea of knowing if there would be an ambulance free to take her. 

“It was concerning because they’d given her morphine at the hospital and if something went wrong I wouldn’t have been able to help as I don’t have a first aid certificate,” he said. 

“I have nothing against the doctors and the nurses at the hospital, they were absolutely wonderful. But I am concerned that this thing might happen again and something might go wrong,” she said. 

Mrs Williams said if it hadn’t been for Mr Mahoney and his wife she would have had no way of making her way between the hospitals as she lives in Sydney and her husband was at home. 

Mudgee Health Service Manager Judy Ford said the provision of appropriate patient care is a priority of Mudgee Hospital and the Health District.

“In cases where a patient requires ongoing care for a non-life threatening condition (for example a limb fracture) that cannot be provided at Mudgee Hospital the patient is referred to a Base Hospital such as Dubbo for appropriate care,” Ms Ford said.  

“Wherever possible it may be suggested to the patient that they travel via private car, providing specific criteria (see break out box) are met.

“Transfer by NSW Ambulance is not the first option for transport of an uncomplicated and stable patient because of the Service availability and higher priority demands on them, and the potential long delays that might occur for an uncomplicated patient’s transport,” Ms Ford said. 

Mrs Williams claims she  was issued the wrong paperwork when leaving Mudgee Hospital and only realised when the doctor at Dubbo Base Hospital began reading off the wrong address and date of birth. 

“I’m not sure what would have happened if I hadn’t noticed they were telling me I was born in the wrong year,” she said. 

Ms Ford said when patients are transferred to another facility, all efforts are taken to ensure the correct and appropriate paperwork is provided and patients should check documents before they leave the hospital.

“We are investigating the incident, however early indications are that there was no issue of incorrect paperwork,” Mrs Ford said.

An issue has also been raised about the time it took for the ambulance to arrive.

While witnesses to the event say the ambulance took nearly 45 minutes to arrive after the call was made, official transcript put the time at 25 minutes. 

NSW Ambulance said the call for Mrs Williams came in at 2.40pm and was classified as a non-emergency. According to their records and transcript, the ambulance arrived at 3.05pm and Mrs Williams was treated at the scene. A spokesperson for NSW Ambulance said like any emergency service, they experienced surges in demand but it was there responsibility to ensure resources were being used appropriately. 

“NSW Ambulance takes a call every 28 seconds and responds to thousands of patients every single day,” the spokesperson said. 

“Similar to hospitals, NSW Ambulance triage patients which may at times mean those with lower acuity conditions will wait longer for a paramedic to arrive or will instead be referred to another health pathway.”