Scotland’s health secretary said he’d “be angry too” if he was in the shoes of those families affected by the ambulance crisis.
Humza Yousaf is scheduled to give a statement to the Scottish Parliament later this afternoon to set out the latest position, including deploying the army to assist.
The health secretary has apologised to families affected by the “unacceptable” ambulance waiting times.
Mr Yousaf told the Daily Record he would be “demanding answers” if he was in the families shoes.
A number of people have endured excruciatingly long waits for an ambulance – including 65-year-old Gerard Brown from Glasgow who died after waiting 40 hours for paramedics to arrive.
Lilian Briggs, an 86-year-old woman in Edinburgh, had to wait eight hours for an ambulance after falling and breaking her hip at home.
‘Unacceptable’
Mr Yousaf told the newspaper: “Some people have waited unacceptably long for ambulances and I apologise unreservedly to those affected.
“If I was in the shoes of the families of Lilian Briggs and Gerard Brown, and witnessed them suffering in pain and having to wait as long as they did for an ambulance, I would be angry and demanding answers as well.
“It is unacceptable.”
The health secretary is preparing to draft in firefighters to drive ambulances in a bid to help ease the A&E crisis.
He is drawing up a blueprint to outline what duties firefighters will perform to help ease the pressure on ambulances in the current crisis.
