Man with broken hip waits hours in agony before hospital admission

A 60-year-old regional disability pensioner spent hours in agony waiting at a Royal Flying Doctors Service (RFDS) facility with a broken hip and no pain relief, before being admitted to hospital for a major operation.

Patrick Rainford had a fall on August 25 and was initially admitted to Mount Gambier Hospital. He was flown to Adelaide on August 27 for a total hip replacement, landing at around 2am. Mr. Rainford waited at the RFDS base at Adelaide Airport from then until around 9:30am, before being taken to Flinders Medical Centre via ambulance.

"I was then left on the stretcher until roughly 9:30am and then finally taken to Flinders [Medical Centre] via an ambulance, and then we got to Flinders and then I'm ramped from then, roughly about 10:15am, until 5 pm in the ambulance," he said.

"No medication, no nothing, watching my blood pressure rise and in incredible pain from the hip."

Mr. Rainford said he was required to fast and was told he could not be given pain relief because he had not been admitted to hospital, due to concerns about potential interactions with other medications he was taking for other health conditions.

"If you're not admitted then you're sort of like in limbo, and you're not seen until you're admitted," Mr. Rainford said.

"Even though the nurses in the ambulance were watching my blood pressure rise and stress levels rise, obviously from the pain, anxiety and high-acid building up in my body from still fasting for the two previous days."

"I was just virtually given ice chips and told to wait until we could get me admitted."

Mr. Rainford described the experience of laying on a stretcher as "very uncomfortable" due to a pre-existing injury which includes five bulging discs in his lower back.

"I'd just hate to see anyone else have to go through this ordeal really, especially at my age too, 60, it's not as if I'm young," he said.

The latest ramping figures revealed patients were stuck outside public hospitals for a record 5,891 hours in August, surpassing the previous high of 5,866 hours in July 2025.

A recent review found ramping was "chronic" between 2022 and 2026. SA Health chief executive Dr. Robyn Lawrence apologised to Mr. Rainford and said the department would reach out to him to learn from his experience.

"I wouldn't want anyone else to be in Patrick's position, where they feel that they didn't get adequate information or they got incorrect information," she said.

Dr. Lawrence explained the state's hospitals endured a "very, very busy month" in August, noting there were "significant issue with patients also awaiting aged care, 476 patients in our hospitals are awaiting aged care".

"All of our patients are prioritised according to their clinical need so, those who need acute and urgent resuscitation obviously move straight through into our system as quickly as possible," she said.

"Patrick was able to safely wait and therefore he's progressed through the pathway as quickly as we could given his acuity and the care he needed to receive."

In a statement, Health Minister Blair Boyer also apologised to Mr. Rainford. "I would like to extend an apology to the patient for the delay in his treatment, due to an extremely busy night at our public hospitals," Mr. Boyer said.

"I've been assured the department is reaching out to him today to express our regret at his experience."

Mr. Boyer said there were around 100 patients in the Emergency Department at the Flinders Medical Centre for most of the day on the night of August 27th. However, Mr. Rainford disputed the department's claim that he was only ramped for 3.5 hours, saying he was made to wait for most of the day.