Cath Groom: Mother, 51, dies tragically after Queensland ambulance fails to show up at her home: ‘Completely preventable’
A single mother with chest pains has tragically died in her home after waiting for an ambulance that never arrived.
Cath Groom, 51, called the emergency services just before 10.30pm on Friday and was given a code 1 as urgent, meaning an ambulance should have been at her home within 15 minutes.
Despite numerous calls to 000, an ‘exhausted’ Mrs Groom waited 90 minutes before canceling the request and deciding to go to sleep, hoping her symptoms would subside.
The next morning her son made the heartbreaking discovery that Mrs Groom had died in bed, leaving him an orphan.
Cath Groom, 51, called emergency services just before 10.30pm on Friday and was deemed urgent, code one, meaning an ambulance should have arrived at her home within 15 minutes
Mrs Groom had raised her son alone after her husband also tragically died 18 years ago, just a month after his birth.
Her friends and family paid tribute on social media to an “amazing and genuine woman taken far too soon.”
“Rest in peace sister, may you now rest peacefully with Dad and the love and husband of your life,” Ms Groom’s sister wrote on Facebook.
“Cath, you are an amazing mother, wife and friend. Heaven is a better place to have you,” one friend wrote.
Queensland Ambulance Services (QAS) is investigating how cases like Ms Groom’s fell below the priority line despite the urgency of their requests.
“Firstly, the thoughts and condolences of the QAS go out to the lady’s family and friends,” a QAS spokesperson told 9News.
The spokesperson said that despite Ms Groom’s case being worthy of a ‘lights and sirens response’, she was pushed back into the queue due to the high number of calls to emergency services at the time.
“QAS is conducting a comprehensive investigation into the clinical and operational aspects of this case and will refer it to the coroner,” the spokesperson said.
‘The service is committed to the family and will continue to keep them informed throughout the assessment process.’
A source close to QAS told 9News that Ms Groom’s death was “completely preventable” if an ambulance could arrive on the scene in time.
The tragedy comes just two days after the death of Wayne Irving, 67, who had to wait three hours in an ambulance outside a hospital.
The next morning her son made the heartbreaking discovery that Mrs Groom had died in bed, leaving him an orphan.
The tragedy comes just two days after the death of Wayne Irving, 67, who had to wait three hours in an ambulance outside a hospital.
The foster carer and water cleaner suffered chest pains at his home in Coulson, about 80km southwest of Brisbane, about 7.30pm on Thursday, with an ambulance arriving about 30 minutes later.
While he was waiting from 9:15 PM to about 12:15 PM that evening, his condition worsened to the point that he was drifting in and out of consciousness.
As he was lowered down a ramp to be removed from the ambulance, Mr Irving went into cardiac arrest and died a short time later.
His wife said she was “completely devastated” by her husband’s death.
“We have lost a great man,” Mrs. Irving said.