Perth ambulance ramping: Opposition sends letter to Premier Roger Cook in bid to apply pressure over crisis

An elderly man was forced to wait almost 12 hours for urgent care before being placed in a police holding room in emergency last month, it can be revealed. The man’s nightmare experience – where he also had to call a taxi because the wait for an ambulance was so long – lays bare the State’s ramping crisis that has reached a record high of 7009 hours last month. And the issue will be on Premier Roger Cook’s desk when he returns from leave on Monday, with the Opposition penning a letter calling on him to urgently address the health system chaos. The 84-year-old man, who did not want to be named, waited upwards of 11 hours at Fiona Stanley Hospital on July 25, before being given a bed in the emergency ward’s police holding room. His daughter said the delay came after his family also had to call a maxi taxi for him as the wait for an ambulance was too long. “St John of God ambulance was lovely on the phone but because dad was considered not urgent … they said there would be a 130 minute wait at first and they kept ringing back a couple of times to check on dad,” his daughter, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “We got our own maxi taxi so mum and dad got to the hospital around 3pm. “There were no beds so if we’d waited for an ambulance dad may have been ramped for who knows how long? “Two o’clock in the morning they laid dad down. He got a bed in one of the rooms in emergency because it was absolutely full, just no beds, nothing in the hospital.” She said ambulance and hospital staff did everything they could but the health system was facing a “crushing crisis.” Her view was echoed by Opposition leader Basil Zempilas in a letter sent to Mr Cook on Friday, calling on the government to redirect its full attention to reducing patients waiting for care. The letter was prompted by the record high of 7009 hours in July, more than the previous peak — 6972 hours — set at the height of the COVID pandemic in 2022. The letter, obtained by The West Australian, said the issue in the State was “out of control.” “You will remember when you were in Opposition, you called 1000 hours of ambulance ramping a ‘crisis.’ The figure for July 2025 is 7000 hours – the worst on record,” the letter stated. “On behalf of all Western Australians, I urge you to make addressing the worsening hospital crisis your first order of business when you are back from leave.” The letter stated: “The worst ambulance ramping figures on record are a symptom of an under-resourced health system that simply does not have the capacity to cope.” “All the expert medical advice indicates that things are going to get worse. This is a crisis endangering lives. It is your responsibility to fix.” Mr Zempilas told The West Australian ramping was as “dire as we have ever seen.” “I understand that the Premier is back to work today and therefore I thought it appropriate that on his first day back, he receives a letter from the Opposition asking him, on behalf of exacerbated West Australians, to make this his total priority,” he said. A State Government spokeswoman said it was currently tackling the issue. “while the Opposition is writing letters and performing stunts, we are working hard every day to put in place a range of initiatives to address the issue of ambulance ramping, and ensure more patients get seen to, faster.” The spokeswoman also urged the Federal Government to step up to move elderly patients out of hospitals. “The reality is our population has soared by more than 300,000 in the past five years as more people choose to live and work in Western Australia,” the spokeswoman said. “And that population is ageing, leading to more complicated conditions presenting at our hospitals. “Aged care beds are a Federal Government responsibility, and that is why we now have a dedicated Minister for Seniors and Aged Care – to advocate to the Commonwealth for more aged care beds. “Ramping is a nationwide issue. The reasons are complex and there is no simple solution but it’s clear we need the Federal Government to step up so we can move elderly patients out of hospitals, to free up beds for patients needing medical care.” Opposition health minister Libby Mettam said inadequate bed capacity didn’t happen overnight. “Labor governments have known for eight years that our population is aging, our population is growing and that flu seasons happen every winter, these are not the reason for ambulance ramping and bed block, they are just the weak excuses of a weak government,” she said. A South Metropolitan Health Service spokeswoman said the hospital was unable to comment on individual cases but the hospital strived to provide high-quality care to all patients. She said a code yellow, which can be reached when there is no beds available, was not called on July 25 at Fiona Stanley Hospital. A total of 59 per cent of patients were transferred from an ambulance to Fiona Stanley Hospital within 30 minutes on that date. There were 105 hospital admissions with those classed as urgent waiting close to three hours, on average, while those seen as semi-urgent having a median wait time of three and a half hours.