Elderly woman, 77, stuck on bedroom floor for 24 hours before ambos are called

A heartbreaking episode of Channel 10 series Ambulance Australia will shine a light on the social isolation many elderly Australians are faced with, as it shares the story of a 77-year-old woman who was left to fend for herself on the floor of her home, where she lives alone, for a devastating 24 hours after suffering a fall.

The woman was left with no choice but to await the arrival of her daughter, who thankfully visited the following day, as she could not get up in order to reach the telephone to call for help.

The episode, which will air on Thursday evening, shows the moment the call-handler received the 000 call from the woman, identified only as Tanya, as she says: “I’ve had a fall and I can’t get up. I’m alright, I’m not hurt or anything, I just can’t get up.”

The call-handler then speaks to the woman’s daughter who explains that her mother has been left with a huge black eye and a large bruise on her shin from the fall, and confirms that she has been stuck on the floor since last night.

Paramedics Mat and Patia are the dispatched to the scene in Eight Mile Plains, just north of Brisbane, to help another crew to extricate the lady from her home. “Unfortunately she’s been on the floor since last night. It makes me sad that someone has been on the floor for that long,” Mat says as they make their way to the scene.

Patia then says: “Being able to help the elderly when they really need it, it’s a good part of our job. The times that they’re unable to get help straight away, when they’re laying on the floor for numerous hours, and they can’t contact anyone to say ‘Hey I need some help’, I think that’s the more devastating part of being a paramedic.”

Upon arriving at the home, they duo are meet the first-responding paramedics who explain that the sharp-angled staircase is a no-go as means of getting the patient out of the home on a spinal board, as they fear she may have suffered a neck injury.

Mat then suggests calling the Queensland Fire and Emergency Service (QFES) to assist with the extrication, and before long two fire engines arrive at the property, one sporting a cherry picker, to help safely remove the woman and get her into the waiting ambulance.

“I like to treat the elderly like I’m treating one of my own family members,” Patia says. “And to give them that respect and that dignity I think is really important in our job.”

Mat then explains that he loves working with the elderly, having lost all of his own grandparents at a young age. He says: “This job has allowed me to get to know the older generation and I feel strongly advocating for their rights and what they need.”

The incredible team of paramedics and fireys are then seen working together to get Tanya safely strapped onto the spinal board, before passing her out of the second floor window into the cherry picker and lowering her to the ground. After the dramatic journey down, Tanya is then loaded into the ambulance and is finally transported to hospital for treatment.

You can watch Ambulance Australia at 7.30pm on Thursday on Channel 10.