The chief executive of St John Ambulance in Western Australia says she feels devastated for the family of a woman who died waiting for an ambulance in Geraldton but has backed the crews working on the day.
Speaking to ABC Perth's Mornings program, Michelle Fyfe said the organisation had launched an independent clinical review into what she described as a "tragic incident".
The woman died just 4 kilometres from Geraldton Regional Hospital in Wonthella — the same suburb as the ambulance service's Geraldton base.
Ms Fyfe acknowledged they were down to one emergency ambulance and one transport crew as someone had taken sick leave.
"[There are] finite resource available in Geraldton," she said.
"There was a number of calls made to crews. There were a number of calls to figure out how we could get the quickest response to this patient.
"There were no volunteers available."
Ms Fyfe backed the decision made by the crew on the day to not call in off-duty paramedics who were at home and due to start another long night shift.
"They had just come off a 13-hour night shift," she said.
"The people who answer those triple zero calls do an outstanding job."
Despite recent reports of St John's struggling to keep up with demand, Ms Fyfe said budgetary restrictions were not a factor in the decision-making process.
"It is not about cost. It is about safety," she said.
"Paramedics inherently want to help."
Geraldton Police were called to the residence about 3:30pm in relation to the woman's death. They are now preparing a report for the coroner.
The incident comes as WA authorities investigate the death of a woman in her 70s at Busselton Health Campus.
The Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson's office and the WA Country Health Service said it was inappropriate for them to comment as the woman did not engage with any state health services.
