A family has found out through the media that a loved one who lived near a hospital waited hours for an ambulance before he died.
A review has been launched after the man in his 50s was among two people in three days to die while awaiting medical treatment in Brisbane.
The man called an ambulance on Saturday complaining of chest pains.
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He lived a short distance from Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane’s south, prompting Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) to ask if he could transport himself.
He declined, citing his condition, and when paramedics arrived two hours later they found him dead inside his home.
Health Minister Tim Nicholls said his family were “disturbed” when they found out about delays to the man’s care through news reports on Thursday.
“The family have reached out overnight and have seen the story in the media, and I think understandably are distressed about that and I understand that,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I apologise to them if that has caused them distress.”
Mr Nicholls said he was first notified of the man’s death on Monday but did not have any family contact details.
A QAS deputy commissioner will meet the family on Friday afternoon.
“We would always ideally like to contact the family first and to respect their wishes,” Mr Nicholls said.
On Tuesday afternoon, another man – aged in his 80s – died shortly after being admitted to the Mater Hospital following a three-hour wait.
Mr Nicholls said both cases would be the subject of critical incident reviews.
“These are terribly tragic and sad events, and we extend our sympathies and condolences to the families of each of the two gentlemen involved,” he said.
“Quite obviously, it’s unacceptable for someone to have to wait for that period of time.
“I make no excuse … It’s important that we carry out a proper review, so that we understand what went wrong and put in place the measures necessary to fix it.”
Australian Medical Association Queensland said it had recommended hospitals function at 90 per cent capacity to allow room for surges in demand.
However, the deaths showed the state system was struggling to keep up with demand, AMA Queensland’s Maria Boulton told AAP.
“This is exactly what healthcare workers are afraid will happen when our services are really under the pump,” she said.
She said a key cause of Queensland’s ambulance ramping was bed blocking, with at least 1400 people waiting in hospital for aged care or NDIS placements.
