Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has confirmed police did not attend the Sorrento home where Premier Daniel Andrews fell and narrowly avoided permanent spinal injury.
Mr Patton’s comments come days after Ambulance Victoria responded to the opposition’s pointed press release issued on Monday, in which shadow treasurer Louise Staley demanded the Premier answer 12 questions about the March 9 injury, including who called the ambulance and whether police interviewed Mr Andrews.
Premier Daniel Andrews, pictured in intensive care in March.Credit: Supplied
Senior government ministers this week accused the Coalition of peddling “QAnon craziness” about the circumstances of the Premier’s fall, and warned the Liberal Party was at risk of plunging into a “Trump conspiracy theory wormhole”.
Mr Patton told ABC Radio on Thursday morning police had not been involved.
“I’ve not been told we attended at all,” he said. “Yes, I did ask [whether police had been involved], at this stage I have been advised we haven’t attended.”
When asked if the Premier had been either formally or informally interviewed, Mr Patton said: “No. From my understanding, you’ve got a tragic accident that’s left a person severely injured who happens to be the Premier of the state. That’s not a matter the police will be involved in.”
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Ms Staley doubled down on her questions on Thursday morning ahead of Mr Patton’s comments, and said the Ambulance Victoria statement had answered five of her questions, but she had seven questions outstanding, including the police’s involvement, who was in the house at the time of the incident, the address of the property and its owner.
“The government is trying to concurrently run a line that these questions are illegitimate but then is answering some of them,” Ms Staley said.
“This is the government’s playbook – they attempt to make any questioning illegitimate and then so they’re playing the woman.”
When asked why she thought police would have interviewed Mr Andrews, Ms Staley said: “I don’t know, I’m just asking.”
Mr Andrews narrowly avoided permanent spinal cord damage after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula. Scans later revealed he had fractured at least five ribs and had an acute compression fracture of the T7 vertebra.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ambulance Victoria outlined its involvement following Mr Andrews’ fall, after seeking permission from the Premier. Ambulance Victoria usually does not provide detailed information on individual cases, citing patient privacy.
It confirmed paramedics were called at 6.36am, dispatched at 6.47am and arrived at the Sorrento home where Mr Andrews was staying at 7.01am.
“Ambulance Victoria received a triple zero call for an ambulance at 6.36am on Tuesday 9 March 2021 for a patient who had fallen on steps at a house in Sorrento,” the statement said.
“Based on information provided during the call, the case did not require an immediate lights and sirens (life-threatening emergency response) and the call underwent secondary triage.
“This triage determined that the case was appropriate for ambulance response, and an ambulance was dispatched from the nearest ambulance branch in Sorrento under normal road conditions at 6.47am. The ambulance arrived at 7.01am.”
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