A retiree who suffered two heart attacks and was treated first at Melbourne, then at Wagga, says he is baffled as to why he couldn't be treated in Albury for a stent procedure.
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Steve Taylor, 72, said after his second attack in August last year when he was sent by ambulance to Wagga, when he was discharged he was "put out on the street" with no wallet and no shoes.
"They just told me where the bus stop and train station was," Mr Taylor said.
"A person's just had a second heart attack and they're putting them out in the street?"
Mr Taylor suffered his first attack in April last year when he was driving on Borella Road, Albury.
Intense agony
He said despite the intense agony he endured, he was able to drive his car to the emergency department at Albury hospital.
"I managed to make it to the hospital and in half an hour they had me stabilised and on a plane to St Vincent's hospital in Melbourne," Mr Taylor said.
"At St Vincent's, they put a stent in, which is an amazingly simple procedure. I just wanted to know why I had to go to Melbourne and the staff told me they can't do it in Albury, they can only do it in Melbourne or in Wagga."
Mr Taylor said he had a stent inserted - "which took about 30 minutes" - then was flown back to Albury on a Royal Flying Doctors plane with no charge to him.
Then, just over three months later, he had another medical episode.
"The second heart attack happened at home, on Logan Road," he said. "I knew I wasn't going to make it to the hospital so I rang an ambulance and they got there pretty quickly.
'No shoes, no wallet, nothing...'
"But they had rushed me out into the back of the ambulance, with no shoes, no wallet, nothing. They shot me up to Wagga hospital because they said they can't do anything at Albury hospital."
He said for the second time, a stent was inserted during a short procedure.
"In a couple of minutes it was all over and done with, then they took me out in the street knowing I had no shoes, no wallet - that stuff was all back home in Albury - and said the only thing we can do is tell you where the bus stop is.
'It's not our policy'
"I said, hang on, you brought me up here, you should be able to get me back to Albury and they said, no it's not in our policy. We can tell you where the bus stop is, we can tell you where the train station is."
A friend was alerted to Mr Taylor's plight and arrived at Wagga hospital two hours later to pick him up.
Mr Taylor said he failed to understand why the non-invasive stent insertion procedure couldn't be performed at Albury.
Albury Wodonga Health told The Border Mail its interventional cardiac service was funded to operate for planned treatment Monday to Thursday.
"The emergency management of cardiac incidents is triaged by the respective responding ambulance services (NSW or Victoria) who will direct cases to the nearest hospital equipped with an operational cardiac catheter laboratory," an AWH spokesperson said.
"They have suitably skilled and qualified staff available, ensuring timely access to necessary treatment.
"Regarding patient transport policies, it is standard practice for discharged patients to be responsible for arranging their own transportation."
'We apologise to Mr Taylor'
The Murrumbidgee Local Health District which oversees Wagga hospital said it acknowledged being admitted to hospital "could be a stressful time".
"We apologise to Mr Taylor for his experience at Wagga Wagga Base Hospital," a spokesperson said.
"Hospital staff have reached out to Mr Taylor to apologise and discuss his concerns.
"The clinical needs of patients might see them transferred to the most appropriate hospital to deliver the level of care they need.
"When this happens, MLHD work with patients and their families and carers to ensure they are supported when they are discharged. This includes working with patient transport and community transport teams to help co-ordinate the patient's journey home.
"Staff will also provide access to a supply of clothing and toiletries for patients, if needed. Patients who have to travel more than 100 kilometres from their home to access care are eligible to seek financial assistance towards their travel and accommodation costs through the Isolated Patients Travel and Accommodation Assistance Scheme."
The Royal Flying Doctor Service said it could not speak specifically about Mr Taylor's case.
"But we do know there are a number of factors that hospitals will use to determine if patient transport is required such as the severity of the medical issue, a need to lie flat when being transported, and distance or duration of travel," a RFDS spokesperson said.
"A request would then be put through to the NSW Air Ambulance service and they task the relevant provider - like the Royal Flying Doctor Service - to transport the patient."
Two years ago, Wodonga entertainer Rodney Vincent started a "Zipper Club" for Border people who have had open heart surgery, many of whom had travelled to Melbourne to undergo their procedures.
Seven years ago, Albury's Tim Farrah, a manager at Australian Industry Group, was rushed to the Albury emergency department after suffering a heart attack before being sent to Melbourne for surgery, spending five nights in St Vincent's Hospital.
