No beds and lack of nurses: how Anne Pedler’s last hours were spent ramped in an ambulance

Anne Pedler with her husband and grandchildren. She died from a cardiopulmonary arrest while waiting in an ambulance outside Launceston general hospital. Photograph: Stella Jennings

The last hours of Anne Pedler’s life were spent in an ambulance ramped outside Launceston general hospital because no bed was available for the 71-year-old.

Pedler arrived at the hospital at 12.45am on 6 August 2022 with a diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism – a sudden blockage of the vessels responsible for sending blood to the lungs. Despite being triaged as urgent, Pedler was still ramped at 8.30am – when she suffered cardiopulmonary arrest.