Ken and Kathleen Watson from Sydney, both 70, were passengers on the Costa Luminosa cruise ship, which struggled to find a port to dock in as the coronavirus pandemic unfolded.

By the time they were finally allowed off in Italy and managed to catch a flight to Perth, new rules had come into effect, forcing them into 14 days' mandatory quarantine in a hotel.

But last Thursday, Ken's condition started to deteriorate in Crown Perth and his wife Kathleen says she struggled to gain the attention of medical staff supposed to be on call for them.

In desperation she rang her daughter in Sydney, who called an ambulance - yet this ambulance was turned away by a doctor at the hotel who decided they could be cared for on site.

By the time a second ambulance arrived and ferried Ken to Royal Perth Hospital, several hours had passed. He was immediately placed in an induced coma in the Intensive Care Unit.

Kathleen's story has triggered an urgent investigation, and a review of the support being offered to all 2200 returned travellers in quarantine in hotels and on Rottnest Island in WA.

The Health Department has also "requested that Healthcare Australia make changes to their rostered personnel as they were not meeting the expectations of the State."

Ken has since been diagnosed with coronavirus and remains critical, but is showing signs of improvement. Listen as Kathleen explains what happened to Russell and Nadia on Breakfast.