Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie, Vale of Leven Hospital and Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.
By Bill Heaney
Jackie Baillie MSP has slammed cuts to ambulance services which are impacting on the the Vale of Leven Hospital as “dangerous and wrongheaded.”
Cuts to ambulance services have been reported locally in recent weeks, despite soaring ambulance turnaround times – the worst of which have impacted on Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.
Ambulance staffing rotas have been changed and whole crews removed so that there are fewer ambulances available at key times.
This has been happening across Scotland, including at the Vale of Leven, meanwhile ambulance turnaround times peaked at 10 hours and 43 minutes at Paisley’s RAH.
With reports of people dying while waiting on ambulances and the current disarray of ambulance services, Scottish Labour is calling on Health Secretary Humza Yousaf to halt these potentially deadly cuts to services.
Dumbarton constituency MSP Jackie Baillie said: “These planned cuts are dangerous and wrongheaded and must be stopped now.
“Ambulance services are in disarray and ambulance staff have been faced with soaring workloads.
“To cut services at this time is potentially deadly and will leave several communities, including those within my own Dumbarton constituency, without the support they need.
“All winter we have heard of people dying while waiting on ambulances – the idea that we would cut ambulance crews at this time is unfathomable.
“Paramedics have said that these changes are wrong and potentially dangerous. So far, Humza Yousaf has entirely failed to act but he must listen to them now. The minister must act now before lives are lost.”
SNP’s A&E crisis continues to bite
Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has today called for new action to ensure that A&E attendees are seen within the 4-hour target as new figures showed that only 73.2% of attendees were seen in time.
Public Health Scotland data for the week ending February 13th shows 1,417 patients waited more than 8 hours to be seen, and 498 waited for more than 12.
Mr Cole-Hamilton, left, said: “Under Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, the A&E crisis continues to bite.
“Staff are doing everything they can but patients are paying the price for over a decade of SNP mismanagement and their failures in workforce planning and retention.
“The Scottish Government should be taking urgent steps to retain staff this winter with a Burnout Prevention Strategy that protects their physical and mental health.
“The First Minister and her Health Secretary need to stop using the pandemic as an excuse for their government’s shortcomings and deliver extra support to our NHS.”
ENDS
Top picture: Pauline Howie, head of the Scottish Ambulance Service.