Dan Andrews grilled by Sunrise host David Koch over Covid restrictions and healthcare failures
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Dan Andrews has been mobbed by Sunrise presenter David Koch over the death of a young father after his desperate wife gave up on the arrival of an ambulance and instead took him to the hospital herself.
The Victorian Prime Minister held a series of breakfast media interviews Monday morning to deliver on his election campaign promises, including free tampons and pads at 700 locations and a $250 utility bill bonus for some Victorians.
But when the early vote for the state elections began on November 26, the prime minister was instead grilled about the tragic death of Danny Vasiljevic and Victoria’s devastating Covid lockdowns.
Vasiljevic, 36, died after suffering chest pains in a shopping center in Melbourne in September and waiting unsuccessfully for an ambulance to arrive.
Dan Andrews has been mobbed by Sunrise presenter David Koch over the death of a young father who died after waiting 20 minutes for an ambulance before his family took him to hospital
Danny Vasiljevic, 36, (right) died after experiencing chest pains in a Melbourne shopping center in September and waiting unsuccessfully for an ambulance before his partner Katrina Christou (left) took him to hospital himself
His partner Katrina Christou rushed to him within 11 minutes and took him to the hospital himself where he later died. The ambulance service said they arrived after 22 minutes.
“What are you going to do about the hospital system?” Koch asked. “The health system is a mess.
“You have people like Danny who called 000 and it took 20 minutes to get an ambulance. His wife had to take him to the hospital with his children in the back and he died.
“You talk like there’s nothing wrong with the health system. You’ve done your 20,000 extra jobs and 26,000 more to come, the nurses love you and everything is rosy. It’s not! That’s not reality.’
The prime minister dodged the issue of the young father’s death and instead paid tribute to the work health workers were doing during the pandemic and pledged to recruit more nurses.
Prime Minister Dan Andrews (pictured with wife Catherine and family at Sunday’s campaign launch) was keen on the tragic death of Danny Vasiljevic and Victoria’s devastating Covid lockdowns
He added: “I don’t know I said that at all. Covid has created major challenges in our health system.
“There is no doubt that there have been difficult times in our health system and our employees have done a great job.
“Our nurses, our secondary schools, our doctors, the entire team and our hospitals have done a fantastic job over the past year.”
Koch snapped back, “But they say you abandoned them.”
The prime minister insisted his government had helped medics by investing in hospitals and staff.
“Covid really hasn’t helped our health system, but we have a plan to continue to invest and support our staff so that they can care for and support our patients,” he added.
“Covid has created major challenges in a health system, be it record numbers of patients requiring care, as well as record numbers of staff simply unable to come to work.
“Yes, there have been very real challenges in our health system. Therefore, now is not the time for austerity and closures and further privatizations. It’s about investments.’
Koch also cracked down on the Prime Minister over the state-ordered lockdowns that brought Victoria to a standstill for months during the pandemic.
“Your second term was dominated by the world’s longest lockdown,” Koch said. “Looking back, do you regret how you handled it?”
The prime minister said he made “difficult decisions, not popular ones” to protect Victorians during Covid – and said he was “proud” of the sacrifices they have made.
Prime Minister Dan Andrews (pictured during Sunday’s election campaign launch) said he made ‘tough decisions, not popular ones’ to protect Victorians during Covid – and said he was ‘proud’ of the sacrifices they have made
“We’ve made some very difficult decisions and the Victorians have done some very amazing things,” he said.
“To be vaccinated in such great numbers, to take care of each other, those acts of kindness, that sense of compassion and absolute closeness between friends and family and indeed strangers.
“Victorians have been through a very difficult time, but we have made tough decisions, not the popular decisions, but the right decisions to keep people safe.
“Victorians can be so proud and I’m so proud of them for all they’ve built, all they’ve sacrificed.”