A senior north-east doctor has claimed ambulance crews in Grampian are “stretched” and under-resourced amid fears for patient safety.
Ken Lawton said he had “big concerns” about waiting times in the north-east – and that the mercy service must be fit to serve rural areas.
He spoke out as a probe continued into why it took an ambulance almost half an hour to reach a teenage cyclist who died after being involved in a collision with a car.
Elgin Academy pupil Keiran McKandie’s parents Gordon and Sandra have already urged Health Secretary Shona Robison to investigate cover in the region.
An investigation has been launched into why it took an ambulance so long to reach Keiran after the accident on the outskirts of Elgin.
Dr Lawton, who is a senior lecturer at Aberdeen University and a former chairman of Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, said: “When I have been asking for an emergency ambulance response times have gone up.
“It is clearly a service with increasing demands and increasing stress.
“Everything is stretched and there aren’t sufficient resources. I have big concerns that waiting times for ambulances have gone up.”
Dr Lawton, who was a senior partner at Great Western Medical Practice in Aberdeen, added: “The ambulance service must be one that is fit for remote and rural areas as well as cities.”
He said the use of air ambulances could make emergency treatment in rural areas quicker than in cities.
But he warned there was widespread concern about the resourcing available to the Scottish Ambulance Service, particularly in the north-east.
The ambulance service has admitted it is “busier than ever” in Grampian, but insisted it was recruiting more crews to ensure response times were not affected.
Dr Lawton said: “The public have a duty to use 999 properly, of course. A call will take an ambulance away from the rest of the service.
“At the same time, the public have to be assured there is an adequate response time in both the city and rural areas.
“And there needs to be sufficient back-up for busy periods. At the moment, the service is stretched.”
His comments echo concerns among local politicians, including Moray MSP Richard Lochhead and north-east MSP Lewis Macdonald.
Mr Macdonald said: “Considering the importance of responding quickly to emergency calls, especially where serious injuries are involved, it is vital that the public feel confident that the Scottish Ambulance Service is assessing need in the region properly, and investigating thoroughly when there are shortages of this kind.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Ambulance teams in Grampian are busier than ever as emergency demand continues to increase and the service has invested in an additional 32 new frontline staff for deployment in the region this year.
“The investment is fundamental to delivering the services’s ‘Towards 2020’ strategy, which aims to provide the most appropriate care to every patient, whether at home or in the hospital.
“This year’s recruitment plan is the first phase of a five-year programme that will increase resources, enhance the clinical skills mix of our staff and introduce new ways of working to best meet the needs of patients.
“We are working with national and regional planning teams to ensure the successful delivery of the major trauma centres in Scotland.”
