A clinical review has found no evidence that ED staff were being forced to prioritise patients in ambulances over sicker patients arriving in waiting rooms due to ambulance ramping.

The claims had been made last year by Dr David Pope, a doctor at Royal Adelaide Hospital and president of the SA Salaried Medical Officers Association.

Last month, he told the ABC: “We’ve people who’ve waited extraordinarily long hours in the waiting room, only to die later on, so that’s deeply concerning that is something that we all strive to avoid when there’s a treatable cause that can prevent death.”

However, a SA Government-commissioned review conducted by Professor Keith McNeil and Dr Bill Griggs found no evidence to back the union’s claims.