Health · Rural ambulance coverageZeehan ambulance death: Man died before crew arrived after 78-minute waitAired October 26, 2026 at 1:02 PM UTCWritten October 26, 2026 at 1:12 PM UTCRead the write-upThis storyTranscript · LOADING0:07A man died before an ambulance reached him after a seventy-eight-minute wait.0:10His call needed immediate assistance, but Zihan's ambulance station had no crew and0:15neighboring paramedics were already busy.0:17Investigators now have to explain why replacement cover failed and what will protect0:21the next urgent caller.0:22The ambulance reportedly arrived seventy-eight minutes after the triple zero call.0:26The man was already dead.0:27His emergency was classified priority one, requiring immediate assistance.0:31The health department has launched what it calls a comprehensive investigation.0:35The man was in his sixties.0:36He called from the Zihan area on Tasmania's West Coast on Saturday, October twenty0:41four, with chest pain and breathing difficulties.0:44His medical cause of death hasn't been made public, and nobody has determined0:47whether earlier treatment would have saved him.0:49Uncovered leave left Zihan without its local crew.0:52Queenstown and Strahan paramedics were attending other patients, so a crew was sent0:56from Bernie.0:57The staffing gap removed the local response, while simultaneous emergencies took the1:01nearest alternatives.1:02Bernie is about one hundred and forty kilometers north of Zihan.1:05A separate estimate put the available crew about one hundred thirty kilometers from1:09the incident.1:09Those figures describe different starting and ending points.1:12The ambulance's actual route and distance traveled haven't been published.1:16Zihan usually relies on one paramedic rostered during the day and on call outside1:20those hours with volunteer support.1:22When the replacement shift couldn't be filled, that arrangement supplied no local1:25crew for this emergency.1:27Ambulance Tasmania operates fifty, one stations.1:30Some have entirely paramedic staffing, while others depend partly or fully on1:34volunteers.1:35At Zihan, the department says it tried the usual ways of finding replacement cover,1:39but those attempts failed.1:40The department says it sought overtime and volunteers to fill the shift.1:44It offered condolences to the man's family, friends, and loved ones.1:47It also says recruitment continues, but the region's remoteness makes attracting1:51paramedics difficult.1:52Union State Secretary Robbie Moore says Zihan needs more permanent paramedics.1:56He says a locally crewed ambulance could have arrived a fair bit quicker.2:00He hasn't given a specific response time that a local crew would have achieved.2:03Moore called seventy-eight minutes far too long for somebody with chest pain.2:07He suggested a likely heart attack and said an ambulance within ten minutes gives2:10the best survival chance.2:12Those are his assessments.2:13Doctors haven't publicly identified this patient's diagnosis or survival chances.2:17Unfilled shifts were already a recognized problem months before this death.2:22At June budget estimates, Health Department Secretary Dale Webster said about11 % of2:26paramedic shifts had gone unfilled since July2025 .2:30Figures published in June put the total at50 ,2 ,220 ,9 shifts, with462:36,500 filled.2:37That leaves five seven hundred and twenty nine unfilled, consistent with about2:41eleven percent.2:41The count shifts, so the same worker could be associated with multiple gaps.2:45Those figures cover part of the two thousand twenty-five-twenty-six financial year.2:49Their precise cutoff and geographic coverage weren't specified in the published2:53extract.2:54They don't measure October staffing in Zihan or explain which absence left this2:57particular shift uncovered.2:59A Hobart family had also been left without an available ambulance about two weeks3:02earlier.3:03They called triple zero twice, twenty five minutes apart.3:06The first call was assessed as non-urgent.3:08As the man's condition worsened, the second became priority one.3:11Another twenty five minutes passed before an ambulance was dispatched.3:15The family drove him to hospital, where he arrived in cardiac arrest and later died.3:19The union says crews were either on other calls or stuck waiting to hand patients3:22over at hospital.3:24The department referred that death to the coroner and is investigating his care.3:27Labor MP Ella Haddad alleges health budget cuts caused the Zihan death.3:32Labor leader Josh Willey says regional areas need enough staff for emergencies.3:36Premier Jeremy Rockliffe says thorough investigations must identify changes that3:40prevent these incidents happening again.3:42Labor and the Greens oppose plans to fine seven hundred million Australian dollars3:45in health budget savings.3:47No investigation has linked that plan to the uncovered Zehan shift or the man's3:51death.3:52Rockliffe says he's willing to consider more resources and other support for3:55regional crews.3:56Rockliffe says the government's hospital handover policy has cut ambulance waiting4:00time by thirty zero hours since it began.4:02Queenstown and Strand crews were described as attending other cases during the Zehan4:06emergency.4:06Nobody has said hospital handover delays occupied them.4:09The Australian Medical Association has called for an independent commission of4:12inquiry into Tasmania's health system.4:14Health Minister Bridget Archer rejected that proposal, saying it would cost more4:18than thirty million dollars and wouldn't help patients.4:20The department says the Zihan investigation will identify any immediate actions4:24required.4:25It hasn't announced a completion date.4:27Investigators still need to explain why replacement cover failed and separate call4:30handling, crew mobilization and travel within the reported weight.4:33Zihan lost its local response because leave wasn't covered, and nearby crews were4:38busy elsewhere.4:39The department is recruiting, but it hasn't announced a new local crew or an4:42implemented roster change following this death.Explore with HeyDexFollow via RSSThe shortThe short ↗
