The first minister has been asked to step in and help a Deeside community at the centre of an ambulance crisis.
In February, Aberdeenshire West MSP Alexander Burnett called on former Health Secretary Jeane Freeman to tackle the problems of single-crewed ambulances in and around Braemar.
This was prompted following the death of Braemar care home manager Pam Anderson in September 2020, but also comes amid a national ambulance waiting times crisis which has seen the army drafted in to help paramedics.
However, the Conservative MSP says he has had no response to his letter, which is now sitting with Ms Freeman’s successor Humza Yousaf, eight months later.
‘Simply not good enough’
He has asked Nicola Sturgeon to intervene directly on the the matter, stating that waiting 210 days for a response is “simply not good enough”.
Since Braemar’s own ambulance was withdrawn in 2007, the nearest vehicle has been based in Ballater, a 17-mile drive away.
Mrs Anderson had to wait 40 minutes for a two-man crew from Tomintoul to take her – as the first ambulance to arrive only had one crew member.
However, the 74-year-old died from a cardiac arrest on the way to hospital in Aberdeen, leading her husband Douglas to plea for improved ambulance provision in Braemar.
Since Mr Burnett wrote to Ms Freeman, another of his constituents, Bill Ritchie from Tarland, suffered a heart attack and waited on two ambulances because the first one only had one crew member.
The Aberdeenshire West MSP says: “Since I sent my original letter, a constituent of mine has had a heart attack, where a single-crewed ambulance turned up only to say it would have to call another unit with two crew to take him to hospital – the very issue I raised in my letter to your Cabinet Secretary.
“So I am extremely disappointed that despite the fact I had raised concerns, this constituent still had to suffer further than necessary.”
‘Wide range of resources’
Responding to the issue last month, a Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the Braemar area is served by ambulance stations in Ballater, Tomintoul, Alford and Banchory.
She added: “While these are the stations which are geographically the closest, the ambulance service will always dispatch the nearest, most appropriate response.
“The service has a wide range of resources which can be deployed depending on the nature of the incident and the condition of the patient, such as ambulances, paramedic response units, air ambulances, advanced practitioners, co-responders that we have based in Braemar and community first responders.
“We are currently engaging with the local community representatives and are looking at a number of areas.”
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said last week that “particular issues in relation to rural communities, remote communities, and island communities, perhaps haven’t got quite the airing or the focus over the last few weeks”.
However, the SNP politician said while there were issues before Covid-19, he would “reject the assertion the ambulance service wasn’t performing well pre-pandemic”.
‘Thoughts and condolences’
A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Mrs Anderson.
“We are aware that the ambulance service has been looking into the specific detail around this incident and are undertaking a significant adverse event review.
“As part of this they have met with the family to discuss their concerns.
“The service is carrying out a national review of demand and capacity which will help to ensure they are working as efficiently as possible and have resources in place to meet both current and projected future demand.
“We are committed to supporting this work and recently announced a further £20 million in funding for the review.
“As part of this review, the service will see 296 additional staff in place throughout the country and the reduction of requirement for on-call working in some of our more rural communities.”