A baby who was rescued from a deadly fire in Aberdeen had to be taken to the hospital by police because an ambulance couldn’t get to the scene due to delays, The Press and Journal can reveal.
The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed “lengthy hospital turnaround times” impacted how fast its crew could reach the burning block of flats on Back Hilton Road, where sisters 24-year-old Shikshya and Aanchal Subedi, 28, lost their lives.
The fire, which started around 6pm on January 29, left terrified residents trapped in their flats, including a three-week-old baby named Gabriel and his mum Grace Ekohwo.
Gabriel and Grace escaped down a ladder from their third-floor home and were taken to safety by a firefighter.
The Press and Journal has since uncovered that no ambulance was available to take baby Gabriel to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary so police officers stepped in.
On the day of the fire, ambulances faced delays of up to eight hours as crews waited outside the hospital for NHS Grampian medics to take on their patients.
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed: “Due to our ambulances experiencing lengthy hospital turnaround times at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, which exceeded eight hours, the [paediatric] patient was transported to hospital as a precaution by Police Scotland.”
The ambulance service’s previous statements about the incident did not reveal the strain on its resources.
Then, an ambulance official stated that “14 resources were dispatched to the scene including ambulances, trauma teams and special operation response teams.”
They added: “Four patients were treated and discharged at scene and one paediatric patient was transported to hospital as a precaution”.
NHS Grampian was asked to explain the situation that unfolded at ARI on January 29.
An official blamed “exceptionally high demand” from patients arriving at the accident and emergency facility, “bed availability” and “staffing pressures”.
The spokeswoman said: “We apologise to anyone who has been impacted by ambulances having to wait at the front door during periods of exceptionally high demand at our Emergency Department.
“Ambulances are freed up as an absolute priority during any major incident and one was on its way to the scene when Police Scotland helpfully stepped in, in this case.
“During periods of intense pressure, cases are triaged as normal with those facing life-threatening situations – such as heart attacks or strokes – continuing to be admitted rapidly for life-saving treatment.
Major incident had to be declared to free up emergency resources
She added: “Our hospitals are currently facing sustained pressure due to the volume of acutely ill patients arriving, bed availability and staffing pressures.
“If your situation is not life-threatening, please call NHS 24 on 111 before attending the Emergency Department or a Minor Injury Unit.
“This allows us to keep waiting times to a minimum and better manage hospital capacity.”
During the Back Hilton fire, a major incident was declared, which allowed NHS Grampian to move around staff to free up ambulance crews at ARI so their emergency vehicles could go to the scene.
It is the latest recent incident that has highlighted pressure on the ambulance service as a result of patient handover delays at ARI.
The issue was highlighted in the Scottish Parliament last Thursday when Tess White, a Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party MSP for the north-east, raised it with the First Minister Humza Yousaf.
She asked him for his response after The P&J reported that as many as 18 ambulances – up to half the north-east’s fleet – were seen queuing outside the city’s flagship hospital on the evening of Monday February 29.
It followed similar scenes last December when patients faced waits of several hours with ambulances stacking up outside the hospital.
And just under three weeks ago, a Dyce shop owner was forced to take his “almost unconscious” and bleeding employee to the hospital himself after she was beaten during a robbery.
He was told an ambulance wouldn’t arrive for four hours so he should instead drive his staff member to ARI himself.
In response to Ms White’s question, Mr Yousaf said the level of ambulance waits at ARI in particular are “simply not acceptable”.
The former health secretary told MSPs there is “no reason that can justify that level of wait”.
He added: “I’ve been extremely concerned about the reports that we’ve heard from paramedics directly.”
And the FM promised he would make sure that Health Secretary Neil Gray writes to Ms White with “full details” of the talks he is having with NHS Grampian.
But reacting to news of baby Gabriel being taken to hospital by the police, Tess White called for urgent intervention.
“For some time now, there has been an extreme demand on ambulances and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary,” she said.
“I recently raised this matter with the First Minister and he agreed that it is an unacceptable situation.
“However, neither Humza Yousaf nor the SNP health secretary have provided any meaningful strategy to help the Scottish Ambulance Service and NHS Grampian respond.
“This is no criticism of ambulance personnel or the service. There are too many demands on too few ambulances with too few people.
“Now, we hear that a baby had to be taken to hospital by the police. It is a good thing officers were there to assist during a tragic incident with the loss of two lives.
“But I don’t believe any officer could imagine they would be placed in a situation like this.
“Once again, I call on the SNP-Green government to urgently address the challenges being experienced by the SAS and NHS Grampian.”
READ MORE: The two sisters who didn’t survive a fatal flat fire that shocked an Aberdeen community
Sisters given ‘send-off they deserve’ thanks to thousands raised after tragic Hilton flat blaze
