ROBERT Newman says he is sick of politicians talking about the ambulance crisis in Maryborough, but delivering very little.Mr Newman, 61, was taken by taxi to St Vincents Hospital in Melbourne from Maryborough after he severed a finger on Sunday.He said initially he was asked if he could drive himself to Melbourne, before it was decided a taxi would take him.“We were then asked if we had the money to pay for it, which we don’t really have lying around,” he said.“We’ve heard of other cases, but it’s a bit different and scary when it happens to yourself.“The poor taxi driver was told if anything was wrong just drop him at the nearest hospital, which is just weird in itself, there are not many hospitals between Maryborough and Melbourne.”Mr Newman said by the time doctors saw him in Melbourne it was 10.30pm and there was little that could be done to save his finger.“From what I know there are enough ambulances in the station, but they haven’t got the manpower to man them, and if they have, well it’s such a vast area, given all the small towns.“This is what I term an elderly town, so it’s pretty sad.“We’ve seen the politicians before say and promise exactly the same thing.“I hate to imagine how many others have suffered. “If a politician’s family was in Maryborough there’d be more done here.” On Wednesday Ambulance Employees Australia state secretary Steve McGhie said the hospital was told there wasn’t going to be an ambulance available for several hours.He said the taxi trip cost $300 and the incident highlighted the need for more paramedic services.Ambulance Victoria spokesman James Howe said two Maryborough crews were busy at the time the hospital notified them, with one crew transferring a patient to Ballarat and the other crew responding to another case.In May, Marlene Gouge told how she waited for an hour for an ambulance the night her husband died.Last year footballer Carl Lawrence died while waiting 18 minutes for an ambulance in Maryborough.The Coalition has promised an additional 340 ambulance officers state-wide and an upgrade of Maryborough ambulance station to a 24-hour operation, if elected.A spokeswoman for Health Minister Daniel Andrews said the government was working with Ambulance Victoria to recruit and determine the location of the extra 234 paramedics announced in a $56 million package in July.
