The parents of a Moray teenager are demanding answers about why it took paramedics nearly half an hour to reach their dying son.
Keiran McKandie died earlier this year after his mountain bike collided with a car on the outskirts of Elgin.
It later emerged that it took an ambulance 27 minutes to reach the 16-year-old – nearly four times the Grampian region average for responding to emergencies.
Now his parents, Gordon and Sandra, have visited Edinburgh to urge Scottish Health Secretary Shona Robison to investigate the region’s ambulance cover.
The couple said: “We are thankful the health secretary met us to move forward our concerns regarding ambulance response times in relation to Keiran’s accident.
“Ms Robison said she would raise our concerns with the appropriate services, investigate appropriately and communicate with us regarding outcomes.”
The McKandie family hopes to improve the nation’s emergency services as a way of creating a “legacy” for Keiran.
Since the keen biker’s death, his parents have mounted a campaign to get defibrillators for Moray’s roads policing teams, in an effort to reduce fatalities in the region.
The couple, of Miltonduff, said: “We will not allow Keiran to be forgotten, we will strive to ensure he has a legacy which will be carried forward.
“We will campaign in his name for improvements, and for change to be implemented to ensure that lives are saved.”
They added: “Keiran will always be our reason for living, and it is unbearable for him not to be part of our lives physically anymore.
“Keiran is our best friend and only child, the pain of his accident will be with us until the day we die.”
Keiran was mountain biking with friends when the tragedy happened on March 20, on the B9010 Dallas to Kellas road, near Craigend.
The ambulance which took 27 minutes to reach Keiran was en route to its base at Tomintoul when it received the emergency call.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said its average response time to a life-threatening emergency in the Grampian area was seven-and-a-half minutes, and its standard protocol was to reach 75% of such incidents within eight minutes.
Elgin-based crews were responding to another call at the time, and the service stressed that – while its policy was always to immediately dispatch the nearest ambulance – “variable factors” could influence response times.
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead arranged this week’s meeting for Mr and Mrs McKandie after they raised their concerns with him at a recent surgery.
Afterwards, he praised them for their “determination” amid such difficult circumstances.
Mr Lochhead added: “All our hearts go out to Mr and Mrs McKandie following the untimely loss of their much loved and popular son.
“Mr and Mrs McKandie wanted to me to take up a number of issues that emerged following the tragedy.
“I commend them for showing determination at this very difficult time to pursue a number of issues to ensure that others can be helped in Keiran’s name.
“The meeting was very helpful with Ms Robison pledging to take the concerns seriously.”
Mr Lochhead added that other constituents had contacted him with concerns about Moray’s ambulance cover, and he plans to raise those issues with the chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service later this month.
People can donate towards the McKandies’ defibrillator campaign by visiting www.justgiving.com and searching for Keiran McKandie.
