Moray MSP Richard Lochhead is demanding action following fresh revelations about the state of the region’s ambulance service.
Mr Lochhead spoke out after it emerged a man, who was gravely wounded near Elgin’s Dr Gray’s Hospital, was “lucky” there was an ambulance nearby.
The 54-year-old man, who remains in a critical condition, was struck by an articulated lorry on West Road on Saturday afternoon.
But although the accident happened only yards from the town’s ambulance depot, it was a vehicle from Keith which was dispatched to the scene.
One of Elgin’s two ambulances was on a 999 call in Lhanbryde, while the other was transferring a patient to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The Forres vehicle was also bringing a patient to Aberdeen and paramedics later revealed it was only through “chance” a Buckie ambulance pulled up at the hospital to drop off a casualty at the time.
Fast-acting bystanders rushed to alert its crew about the accident, and they arrived to treat the man only six minutes after the emergency call was made.
One paramedic claimed that if the Buckie ambulance had not arrived at the right moment, it was unlikely the injured man would have survived.
Mr Lochhead was on his way to Dingwall to watch Aberdeen take on Ross County on Saturday, and was a dozen vehicles behind the lorry involved.
He said: “I assumed that, given its proximity to the ambulance depot, a crew would be close.
“But now we know it was just pure chance Buckie paramedics were in the area. This shows the pressure the local ambulance service is under, and it is something I will be raising as a matter which needs to be addressed.”
The MSP confirmed he is due to meet the chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service, Pauline Howie, in the next few weeks.
He has previously campaigned for the service to commit a new vehicle to the area to perform patient transfers, and free up paramedics to deal with emergencies.
Ambulance bosses said some measures had been implemented to reduce the amount of transfers which paramedics have to perform.
But they have pledged to “explore new ways of working” if they can benefit patients.
