SYDNEY: An Australian ambulance crew carrying a dying woman to hospital took a detour to grant her final wish -- to visit the beach one last time.

"Tears were shed and the patient felt very happy," the ambulance service posted on its Facebook page alongside a photo showing a paramedic beside a stretcher facing the ocean at Hervey Bay, on Australia´s east coast.

"A crew were transporting a patient to the palliative care unit of the local Hospital and the patient expressed that she just wished she could be at the beach again," the service said in the message posted on Thursday.

"Above and beyond,the crew took a small diversion to the awesome beach at Hervey Bay to give the patient this opportunity," it added of the crew´s actions on Wednesday.

"Sometimes it is not the drugs/training/skills - sometimes all you need is empathy to make a difference!"