Two-hour ready instances for an ambulance will turn into the brand new ‘regular’ in Ayrshire if motion isn’t taken to handle the disaster, warns an MSP.
A freedom of knowledge request from the Scottish Conservatives reveals that ambulance ready instances in NHS Ayrshire & Arran have skyrocketed – with greater than 3,000 sufferers ready longer than two hours for consideration.
Now South Scotland Tory MSP Sharon Dowey mentioned she’s “significantly involved” over the figures.
The statistics revealed that in 2021/22, a complete of three,372 individuals from the well being board's space waited longer than two hours for an ambulance to reach.
This can be a large enhance on the 165 individuals who waited the identical size of time in 2018/19.
In August final yr, Ayrshire reside advised how an aged girl was left mendacity on a busy city centre road for greater than 4 hours whereas she waited for an ambulance.
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And in December, we revealed how a gaggle of fine Samaritans had been left 'disgusted' after they had been advised by an ambulance operator they'd not come to assistance from an injured 62-year-old girl – regardless of three separate pleas for assist.
Now Ms Dowey is asking on well being secretary Humza Yousaf MSP to urgently flip issues round in Scotland’s ambulance service.
She mentioned: “The SNP are making new data day-after-day. First it was document excessive A&E ready instances, then we seen document excessive cancelled operations and now we’re seeing document excessive ambulance ready instances.
“Humza Yousaf must look again at his first yr within the put up and think about whether or not he’s as much as the duty. After presiding over such prolonged ready instances in our well being service with out making any enhancements, the SNP are placing affected person’s lives in danger.
“Think about phoning an ambulance in a state of misery, the place each minute looks like an hour. Below the SNP, this sense has turn into a actuality as Ayrshire residents wait hours on an ambulance to reach.
“It’s known as an emergency for a cause, and but the SNP are pleased to let sufferers look ahead to hours on an ambulance. Even when a affected person manages to make it to A&E with out an ambulance, they’ll nonetheless discover themselves ready hours to be seen.”
She added: “Humza Yousaf must ramp up recruitment in our NHS to assist take care of the demand. In any other case, a two-hour wait will turn into the conventional, and our present NHS employees will proceed to be put below far an excessive amount of stress.”
A Scottish Authorities spokesperson mentioned affected person security remained their “primary precedence.”
The spokesperson continued: “The pandemic has been the most important problem the NHS has confronted in its 73-year existence.
“These figures show that whereas there are roughly the identical variety of incidents being responded to in 2021/22 in comparison with 2018/19, there was a dramatic enhance within the variety of essentially the most severe incidents.
“Our elevated funding has seen document recruitment of 540 further ambulance employees in 2021/22 with additional recruitment of 574 employees deliberate for this yr, making certain the service is working as effectively as potential.”
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