- Ally Langdon slams health bosses
- A mother died while waiting for an ambulance
Ally Langdon has questioned a senior minister and health official after a single mother tragically died of a heart attack while waiting for an ambulance that never arrived.
Cath Groom, 51, called emergency services just before 10.30pm on Friday after experiencing chest pains and was deemed urgent, meaning an ambulance should have arrived at her Brisbane 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, Mrs Groom’s son made the heartbreaking discovery that she had died in bed.
Langdon branded the “avoidable tragedy” a “disgrace” in a tense interview on A Current Affair.
“What happened is unacceptable, and that Cath Groom is no longer with us and that her son is no longer a mother is a shame,” Langdon said Tuesday evening.
Cath Groom (pictured), 51, died after suffering chest pains and calling an ambulance that never arrived
The host spoke to Queensland Heath Minister Shannon Fentiman and Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner Craig Emery.
Ms Fentiman and Mr Emery said they were ‘devastated’ for Ms Groom and her family.
“It is unacceptable that it took so long for an ambulance to get to her and I am truly sorry,” Ms Fentiman said.
Langdon questioned whether the fact that a code one call went unanswered was evidence that Queensland’s entire ambulance system was “broken”.
Ms Fentiman admitted: ‘We definitely should have done better in this case’, but added that ambulances are deployed ‘overwhelmingly’ when someone calls for help.
Langdon mentioned the comment ’empty words’ and asked Mr Emery, if he agreed ‘that there is a serious problem with the agency you oversee?’.
“We should have responded to that lady much quicker, we were dealing with a surge in demand,” Mr Emery said.
Actress Ally Langdon said what happened to Ms Groom is a “disgrace”.
Ms Langdon spoke with Queensland Minister Heath Shannon Fentiman (left) and Queensland Ambulance Service Commissioner Craig Emery (right)
Mrs Groom raised her son alone after her husband also tragically passed away 18 years ago – just a month after their son was born.
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.