HOW LONG DID IT TAKE AMBULANCES TO REACH PEOPLE ON NOVEMBER 21?
* Ambulance Victoria says most people were reached within 20 to 30 minutes
* Paramedics reached 55 to 60 per cent of asthma storm cases within 15 minutes
* Ambulances normally arrive at about 80 per cent of cases within 15 minutes
WHAT DO PARAMEDICS DO?
* Provide Ventolin to relax muscles and open airways; and/or steroids to reduce inflammation
* Provide oxygen or breathing assistance via a ventilator
SO WHAT SHOULD BE DONE DIFFERENTLY NEXT TIME?
* Normally Ambulance Victoria doesn't recommend people drive critically ill patients to hospital themselves
* However, the organisation is considering the need to provide "real-time information" during future emergencies so people know if there's going to be a long delay for an ambulance
* Family and friends could then elect to drive a patient to a nearby hospital themselves
* Experts also suggest in future people should be told to stay indoors to avoid pollen in the first place
WHY DIDN'T PEOPLE HAVE THEIR OWN MEDICATION THIS TIME?
* Preliminary data suggests many people admitted to hospital hadn't previously suffered asthma - they couldn't have known they'd need medication at hand
WHAT IS THUNDERSTORM ASTHAMA AGAIN?
* Pollen grains absorb moisture during a thunderstorm and then burst into hundreds of tiny allergenic fragments which are small enough to penetrate deep into the airways
* During a severe asthma attack muscles around the airways contract and block the flow of air
* Inflammation and mucus also blocks the airways from within.
Sources: Ambulance Victoria and respiratory physician Dr Michael Sutherland from the Epworth and Austin hospitals.
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