An independent MP has called for greater transparency and cooperation between the state government, the SA Ambulance Service and Royal Flying Doctor Service as regional patients experience major delays in hospital treatment.
The call from Mount Gambier MP Troy Bell comes after Tarpeena resident Marcia Layley was flown to Adelaide in April by the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) for medical treatment after suffering serious cardiac complications.
She was forced to wait 10 hours at the RFDS patient facility in Adelaide before an ambulance was able to transfer her to the Flinders Medical Centre for treatment.
When she returned home after the ordeal, Ms Layley contacted Mr Bell in the hope her experience would highlight the barriers faced by rural South Australians in accessing critical healthcare services.
"I needed to be airlifted to Adelaide to have a pacemaker inserted," she said.
"I was scared because I didn't know what was going on."
Ms Layley sat in an armchair from 10pm until 8am waiting for the ambulance.
"I was on a heart monitor and I had a nurse with me … but I never saw a doctor," she said.
'Need to overhaul arrangements'
Meeting with RFDS representatives in Adelaide in May, Mr Bell was informed that despite the RFDS having two ambulance vehicles on site, it had been unable to transfer Ms Layley to hospital.
He was told an agreement between the state government and the SAAS stipulated the ambulance service was the sole contracted authority for transporting patients to a hospital.
"I'm not being critical of the RFDS or SAAS," Mr Bell said.
"But it's clear there's a need for a review and overhaul of these arrangements.
Mr Bell said regional patients relied on the two services and were being unfairly impacted by the current agreement.
In a statement to the ABC, a SAAS spokesperson said "every attempt is made to ensure patients experience seamless transfers between health facilities".
"But inevitably … lining up aircraft and ambulance service capacity can be challenging, with the SAAS prioritising life-threatening emergencies at all times.
The SAAS said all patients received appropriate monitoring and treatment while waiting for ambulance transport at the RFDS base in Adelaide.
The spokesperson said the RFDS had the ability to escalate cases to SAAS and MedSTAR where necessary.
