A MAJOR Perth hospital emergency department was thrown into chaos last month when a man drove a truck up to its main entrance seeking medical attention for his mate, unaware he had been dead.

The event at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, which The Sunday Times was told was so serious that it forced the closure of the main ED entrance and diversion of all but “priority one” ambulance cases for more than five hours.

WA Police confirmed it attended the ED at 2.35pm on July 8, cordoning off the truck to investigate the scene.

They said the hire truck, which was blocking the entrance, was searched and “nothing of interest was found”.

Police determined the death of a 44-year-old Cannington man was “non-suspicious” and “sudden”.

A witness said the man, who appeared to be “high on meth” rushed into ED asking for help for his friend, not realising that he was dead and had been “for some time”.

The witness said staff tried calming the man down and avoided telling him of his friend’s fate in case it agitated him and escalated the tense situation.

A spokeswoman for Sir Charles Gairdner Osborne Park Health Care Group said when police arrived and cordoned off the area, hospital staff organised “alternative” entry and exit points to the hospital.

“The main walk-in and ambulance entrances to the ED were closed and patients were able to access the department through the hospital’s main entrance nearby,” she said.

During the diversion, which lasted about five-and-half hours, only “priority one” ambulance patients were admitted, with all other ambulance patients sent to other metropolitan hospitals.

The hospital still accepted walk-ins during the disruption.

She said the diversion ended at about 8pm when all entrances were reopened.

The spokeswoman said there was minimal impact on the ED, with “clinical staff continuing with business as usual”.

“The hospital has emergency procedure guidelines in place and has reviewed its response on this occasion. No further changes to established and practised guidelines are required,” she said.

She said the hospital would not comment on the treatment of individual patients.