An independent review has looked into claims of improper patient prioritisation at SA Hospitals. 

The review, led by health professionals Professor Keith McNeil and Dr Bill Griggs, scrutinised claims from the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association (SASMOA) and the Ambulance Employees Association (AEA). 

SASMOA had alleged that hospital managers were instructing staff to prioritise ambulance patients over sicker individuals in EDs, while the AEA countered that waiting room patients were receiving precedence. 

The findings reject the concerns about the prioritisation of patients in emergency departments (EDs) and those arriving by ambulance. The state government has welcomed these findings and pledged to implement all five recommendations from the report.

“We did an exhaustive examination of the evidence both in terms of speaking to individual clinicians, hospital administrators and trawling all of the data that was available to us,” Professor McNeil stated. 

“We could find no evidence that either claim could be substantiated."

Despite these findings, SA Health data revealed a worrying trend: ambulances spent a record 4,285 hours ramped outside Adelaide's public hospitals in November. 

This issue was brought into sharp focus with the tragic case of a 54-year-old man who died after waiting over 10 hours for an ambulance during a night of high ramping. 

His family's anguish was palpable, with his aunty criticising the government.

“Wake up Mr Malinauskas, this is your fault, your problem and the buck stops with you,” she said. 

However, Dr Griggs noted; “We looked at the evidence … we couldn't find any of those in the analysis, we haven't gone into the case in more detail”.

Dr David Pope from SASMOA described the recommendations as a “good first step”, expressing support for the approaches suggested. 

Meanwhile, Opposition health spokesperson Ashton Hurn raised concerns about the narrow scope of the review's terms of reference.

In response, Premier Peter Malinauskas has praised the commitment of medical staff and reiterated his government's focus on increasing hospital capacity. 

Health Minister Chris Picton echoed this sentiment, outlining steps to open more staffed beds and create additional capacity in hospitals.

The review is accessible in PDF form, here.