Sydney Morning Herald, 21 April 2024

An elderly Grafton woman died of a cardiac arrest after the Northern Rivers town was temporarily left without public ambulance coverage because the only available paramedic had been redirected to cover horse races under an agreement with Racing NSW.

The decision to remove the paramedic off-road to cover last Tuesday’s races broke with long-standing protocol that public coverage should not be compromised by the commercial needs of private sporting fixtures. The incident has sparked an investigation into the death of Ruth Beaumont.

It took 35 minutes from the emergency call before an ambulance arrived. Beaumont’s husband had reportedly been administering CPR on his wife for 20 minutes by the time police and volunteers from the Rural Fire Service arrived.

A second ambulance stationed in Grafton on April 9 had been responding to another incident in Yamba and was unavailable to attend.

A commercial arrangement between NSW Ambulance and NSW Racing allows for two off-duty paramedics to cover race meets across the state on overtime pay. Their attendance is a prerequisite for these events to proceed.

However, health sources who were not authorised to speak publicly said this occurred when Grafton’s only available paramedic was dispatched to cover seven races at the Clarence River Jockey Club in Grafton for the afternoon, leaving the town of nearly 40,000 people with only one ambulance available.

About 3pm on April 9, a triple-zero call for a cardiac arrest incident was made in Grafton, about 490 kilometres north of Sydney, after Beaumont, 80, suffered a cardiac arrest. However, the closest available ambulances were stationed in the towns of MacLean and Woolgoolga, just under 40 minutes away.

Beaumont was pronounced dead just after 3.30pm. The Grafton ambulance station is a six-minute drive from the Beaumont house.

An Ambulance NSW spokeswoman said a “serious adverse event review” was under way and “we will engage with Ms Beaumont’s family to ensure they are kept informed about the investigation”.

“NSW Ambulance extends its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ruth Beaumont. The safety of our patients is always our top priority,” she said.

Beaumont’s husband Paul said he was “extremely pleased” with the service Ruth had been provided, saying he understood the necessity for the races to be covered by paramedics, and he did not believe his wife’s safety had been compromised.

“I have no complaints whatsoever,” he said.

Grafton Ambulance Station usually has four paramedics and two ambulances, but the second vehicle had been responding to an incident in Yamba, about 50 kilometres to the north-east. Sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect their jobs said the deployment of on-duty paramedics to cover race meets was relatively rare, but not isolated.

Under Racing NSW’s minimum standards, race clubs are expected to provide a “fully operational ambulance for all race meetings and barrier trials”. The initiative was announced by the Australian Turf Club in 2016 after heats at Warwick Farm were postponed because an ambulance wasn’t available to be on course.
 
Other sports have similar arrangements with NSW Ambulance.

However, the longstanding protocol, introduced following ministerial direction from former NSW Liberal health minister Jillian Skinner, is that public paramedic coverage should not be undermined by these sporting fixtures.

‘Revenue raising over patient care’

Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes said the lack of paramedic coverage required the minister to ask “tough questions” of NSW Ambulance, saying the prioritisation of revenue raising over patient care would “represent a profound breach of the public’s trust”.

“No one can say with certainty that this patient would have survived if an ambulance had been available, but we can certainly say that this patient deserved more prompt care than they received,” Hayes said.
 
Opposition health spokesman Matt Kean called for an inquiry into the incident, saying: “This is deeply concerning, and I trust a proper inquiry will be conducted. If these facts are correct, I expect this to be referred to the coroner for review.”

Health Minister Ryan Park declined to answer questions, citing the ongoing investigation.

“My sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ruth Beaumont,” he said.