Plea for ambulance claims to be investigated

Orkney’s MSP Liam McArthur has invited the health secretary, Alex Neil, to investigate claims that a lack of road ambulances in Aberdeen is causing delays for isles patients arriving by air ambulance and needing transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Mr McArthur has already raised this with the Scottish Ambulance Service but asked the minister to carry out his own investigation.

Mr McArthur said: “Much of the focus in recent years has been on response times and the overall performance of the air ambulance service. However, it now seems that delays may be arising due to an apparent lack of capacity in the road ambulance fleet in Aberdeen.

“I am aware of recent cases where isles patients have arrived, by air ambulance, in Aberdeen, only to find their transfer to ARI is delayed due to the fact that no road ambulances are available. This is unacceptable and suggests a serious breakdown in co-ordination between different parts of the service.

“I have raised these concerns directly with the SAS chief executive, Pauline Howie but the health secretary needs to carry out his own investigation. In the interest of patients from Orkney and other parts of the Highlands and Islands, any capacity or communication issues need to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”