Ambulance bosses have apologised after north-east residents were left waiting twice the target time in life-threatening emergencies.
New figures show patients were left waiting almost 16 minutes for an ambulance to arrive during a “red” category emergency – double the national target of eight.
They also reveal some were forced to endure 40 minutes while they waited for help to arrive.
However, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) says a number of issues are at play, including hospital turnaround times.
Waits of 40 minutes
Emergency calls are categorised purple, red, amber, yellow or green, depending on the risk to a patient’s life.
Purple calls are for the most serious cases, like a cardiac arrest or severe difficulty breathing.
Red, the second-most serious category, is used for the likes of suspected heart attacks, falls from a height, major trauma or stabbings.
In Aberdeen last year, crews were called to 2,797 red incidents with a median response time of just over seven minutes – meaning half were below this, and half above.
For purple calls, this figure was just over five minutes.
The stats, obtained by the Scottish Conservatives, also reveal that 10% of the red calls took longer than 12:28.
Elsewhere, response times for red calls were just over eight minutes in Banff, almost 12 in Buckie and 12 in Mintlaw.
In Macduff, the 23 red calls had a median time of 22:31, with 10% waiting longer than 40 minutes. However, purple calls were dealt with in around nine minutes.
Ambulance staff are ‘beyond breaking point’
Conservative MP for Banff and Buchan, David Duguid, said it was a “shocking reflection” of the issue the Scottish Ambulance Service is currently facing.
“Heroic ambulance staff and paramedics are continuing to do a fantastic job through this pandemic but they are under-resourced and beyond breaking point,” he added.
“The SNP have underfunded our ambulance service for too long.
“Humza Yousaf should accept the Scottish Government’s failings and outline real solutions to support patients and staff once and for all.”
‘We apologise to anyone waiting longer than we would wish’
An ambulance spokeswoman said the NHS is under “tremendous pressure” and acknowledged patients are waiting longer than they’d wish.
“Our median response times for purple and red calls in the region are a few minutes longer than our target – around 10 minutes and 16 minutes respectively,” she said.
She said the top 10% wait length figures are “by exception” and: “are usually as a result of a call starting out as a lower level call and subsequently being upgraded.
“The clock isn’t restarted in these instances.
“We apologise to anyone who is having to wait longer than we would wish, our crews are working as hard as they possibly can to get to patients as quickly as possible.”
‘We’re doing everything possible’
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said it is “doing everything possible” to help the ambulance service, and wider NHS system, during the pandemic.
This has includes the announcement of a £20 million fund to improve response times, alleviate pressures and improve ambulance staff wellbeing.
“This is an addition to the £20m provided as part of the £1 billion NHS recovery plan to fund almost 300 additional ambulance service staff,” she added.
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