Code black: Hospital patients out on the street after being refused treatment

Victorian hospitals are turning away patients with violence histories from emergency departments, leaving them untreated on streets. Ambulance crews report hospitals trigger "code black" security responses to eject unwelcome patients, though paramedics lack access to secret exclusion lists. Mental health lawyers say desperately unwell patients are being transferred between hospitals or abandoned in communities, undermining trust in emergency services.

Summary by Glance · SMH