Stevenson Addresses Lack of Ambulance Cover in North East

Stewart Stevenson, SNP MSP for Banffshire & Buchan Coast, has met with senior staff at the Scottish Ambulance Service to discuss concerns about ambulance cover in the North East.

from wikipedia

Earlier this month, Mr Stevenson met with Chief Executive Pauline Howie, and Milne Weir, Divisional General Manager of the Scottish Ambulance Service, at Holyrood to discuss their progress and plans for the future.

Mr Stevenson and Banff and Buchan MP Eilidh Whiteford have held a series of meetings over recent months with senior regional management at the SAS and front-line emergency personnel to examine concerns that there are areas of the North East not adequately covered by the ambulance service.

As a result, initiatives such as a recruitment drive to enlist and train more specialist ambulance personnel and increased co-operation with partnership organisations such as Scottish Fire and Rescue have been progressed.

Stewart Stevenson MSP said:

“As a result of a number of concerns from constituents I felt that it was important to meet with senior personnel from the Scottish Ambulance Service for an update on their progress.

“I was delighted to hear that their national recruitment drive has been very successful and that they are working hard to fill vacancies within the service in the North East. They are also providing a comprehensive training programme for those joining up.

“They assured me that they have been doing extensive engagement within the community over the past 18 months, and that the ambulance service are very much part of a community team approach across the area, working with local partners – which will benefit many people in the long term as well as the short term.

“The SAS has been working on training up more volunteers such as community first responders, and they are encouraging workplaces and schools to engage in CPR training so that the general public are educated in how they can help. More lives are being saved than ever before.”

At the meeting, SAS Chief Executive Pauline Howie said they had identified that seven in 10 of every emergency 999 call could be treated by professionals out with a hospital context, and that the service was working on a more effective joined up care within the community.

Eilidh Whiteford MP added:

“I am very pleased that substantive action is being taken to address the concerns of local communities in the North East, and to restore and improve on the levels of emergency cover across the area.

“We will continue this dialogue in the hope that our constituents know that they can rely on the responsiveness and function of their local ambulance service. We look forward to receiving reports of continued improvement in the future.”