Regional Health Crisis: Evans' 3-Day Wait

0:00In Sydney today, March 8th. Last September, a farmer named Mick Evans from South Australia's Riverland region suffered a mild heart attack. He ended up at Wakery Hospital, about 70 kilometers from his home, and waited almost three days for a transfer to Adelaide. Airlift requests kept getting canceled because there were no beds available at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Eventually on the third day, Mick was flown to Astrid Hospital in Adelaide where he received quick care. His wife Susie drove more than 100 kilometers round trip every day to visit him during the wait. She has private health insurance to ease pressure on public hospitals, but it still didn't speed things up. Mick and Susie feel frustrated that regional patients face these long delays. At 70 years old, Mick stays active on the farm, but worries about health access as he ages. Susie, a mental health advocate after losing her son to suicide in 2018, points out long waits for even basic GP visits in rural areas.

1:00Ramping has been a major problem across South Australia since the labor government took office in 2022. Major hospitals lose thousands of hours monthly to these delays, despite election promises to fix it. The opposition liberals now promise a system-wide approach, including better GP access and workforce planning ahead of this month's state election. Regional folks like the Evans are calling for more investment in country hospitals to handle non-urgent cases locally. SA Health says patient safety comes first, with monitoring and escalation plans in place during busy times. Still, the couple hopes changes come soon to prevent others from similar or deals. This DNN story comes to you thanks to our sponsor. It looks like a pillow, it sounds like headphones, built for comfort and sound, SOLI solelypillow.com