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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Melissa Davey Medical editor

Emergency overload: how Covid exposed Australia’s straining hospital system

Emergency sign at RPA hospital in Sydney
Australia’s emergency departments are struggling following the strain put on them by the Covid pandemic. Photograph: Paul Miller/AAP

Samantha Hodgson met all the criteria for a possible heart attack: “A tight, crushing pain that started in my shoulders and spread through my chest and ribcage. I was dizzy, and the pain had escalated over 24 hours so that it hurt to breathe.”

Hodgson was also on day nine of being infected with Covid-19, and until the chest pain hit, she had been feeling better. According to health guidelines, she needed an ambulance for a suspected heart attack.

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