Nick Panagiotopoulos,who died in 2021 following a long wait for an ambulance,and his wife Belinda.
This was the evidence given to the Coroners Court by cardiologist Associate Professor Nicholas Cox,who said if emergency services had arrived even seven to 10 minutes after his cardiac arrest,Nick’s chances of surviving would have been good.
“I think the[triple-zero answering] delay and the result that emergency services didn’t arrive was contributory to his death,” Cox told the court. “Had he been treated,had he survived,I would expect that he is someone that with appropriate medical therapy could have otherwise had a normal quality of life,and indeed probably a long life,with appropriate care and follow-up.”
Nick’s death from a heart attack on October 16,2021,was first reported byThe Agein December the same year,sparking a review by ESTA’s regulator,the Inspector-General for Emergency Management. But many more deaths would follow in the months to come as theanswering crisis worsened.
It tookrevelations by The Age of another 11 deaths linked to ESTA call-answering delays,reported in March the following year,for the Victorian government to announce a $115.6 million reform package for the service battling “unprecedented demand”.Still more deaths would follow.
The court heard on Monday that the coroner’s investigation may include an assessment of the adequacy of the 2022 inspector-general’s review of emergency ambulance call answer performance,and whether it properly considered how the pandemic-related surge in calls was identified,who was responsible for responding to that increase,and what was done in response.
The Panagiotopoulos inquest was scheduled to continue on Tuesday but was adjourned on Monday afternoon until March because the court recently received a “considerable amount of information” from ESTA and Telstra,which directs Australians’ triple-zero calls to the appropriate emergency service.
“The volume of that material was more significant and complex than initially anticipated,” said barrister assisting the coroner Georgina Coughlan,KC.