Ambulance Victoria reviews case of Orbost death A GRAVELY ill man died while waiting more than half an hour for an ambulance in country Victoria, raising concerns among the dispatchers involved and prompting a review. The Orbost man in his 60s died on May 30 after a history of severe illness, with an ambulance only making it to the scene 37 minutes after his wife first called to say he was unconscious with minimal breathing. Ambulance Victoria is reviewing the case, though it has not been claimed a faster response time would have necessarily saved him. An emergency dispatch insider said the man had "ineffective breathing" during the call, prompting a Code 0 response - the highest category emergency requiring immediate action. With the area's only ambulance already on another call-out, dispatchers could only send CFA and police, who arrived at the scene within 15 minutes, but without specialised equipment. The emergency dispatch worker said they felt hampered by not having the chance to respond promptly, even though an immediate response may not have saved him. The dispatcher said colleagues were stunned when Ambulance Victoria chief Greg Sassella dismissed concerns when questioned about the case on radio the next day, instead saying the man had already died when the ambulance was called. The Sunday Herald Sun has seen the original call-out chronology, which states the patient was categorised as "unconscious, fainting/ineffective breathing" at the start of the emergency call, as well as records of ineffective breathing for the next 30 minutes. "They've coded it as a medical emergency that needs an ambulance there straightaway if he is to have any chance of survival," the dispatcher said. If that happened in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Victoria, that gets a two-car ambulance response with a minimum of two MICA paramedics. Everyone was just raising their eyebrows; they couldn't believe he would say that. Details of the case have emerged amid ongoing industrial action by paramedics and dispatch workers. When questioned about the case on May 31, Mr Sassella told ABC radio: "We had an elderly gentleman who had a number of severe and chronic lung trauma diseases who had passed away." Last week Ambulance Victoria Gippsland regional manager Mick Stephenson said the service would review the case, confirming the patient was considered to be breathing ineffectively and the highest possible priority when the call was received. Mr Stephenson said the patient's breathing was agonal respiration, which may last for up to 30 minutes after cardiac arrest but did not imply the patient was alive or could be resuscitated. He said Orbost had a low workload and it was unfortunate the area's only ambulance was busy when the emergency occurred. "Unfortunately, due to the conditions of the patient and the complex situation where resuscitation could not be effectively delivered immediately, the patient passed away," Mr Stephenson said. We extend our sympathy to the family. We are currently reviewing the case and are happy to meet with the family to discuss the outcome if they wish to do so. This patient required immediate assistance and unfortunately it was not available at this time. Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said confusion about the Orbost case at the highest levels of Ambulance Victoria were unfortunate. "The fact that both the police and CFA were able to arrive at the scene well before the ambulance did tells a broader story about the plight of our ambulance service right now - it's in crisis," Mr Andrews said.