THE First Minister has rejected suggestions that police officers are "routinely" filling in for ambulances amid pressures on the NHS.
The Scottish Police Federation trade union said it knows of approximately 30 cases in recent months where patients were driven to hospital in police cars because of a lack of available ambulances or long waits for paramedics.
Last month the army was called in to help drive ambulances amid deteriorating response times and warnings about driver shortages from the ambulance service.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has denied the claims from the Scottish Police Federation.
Examples reportedly recorded by Police Scotland officers included an unconscious man who had attempted to take his own life being driven to hospital in a police car because no ambulance had attended more than an hour after being called.
READ MORE: Vaccine passports: Nicola Sturgeon says app issues are 'deeply regrettable'
Another incident was said to involve an elderly man lying on a pavement with a leg injury and in “extreme confusion” with his foot turning black.
More than five and a half hours after a 999 call was made, and with all ambulances unavailable, he was put in the back of a police van and taken to hospital.
A third case was the ambulance service reportedly calling for the police to help with a woman whose motorbike had fallen on her, leaving her with an open compound fracture of her lower leg.
The police log read: “A local off-duty nurse is with her but as the ambulance will not be able to attend for two hours the SAS (Scottish Ambulance Service) let us know, despite it being a medical matter and their lack of resources doesn’t change what it is.
“They ask if we can attend (not sure what for) however the duty sergeant has no units and not sure what assistance they could be if he did.”
Gordon Forsyth from the Scottish Police Federation said: “Cops out there are taking people to hospital in the back of police cars simply because the ambulance is going to be hours, or there isn’t anybody suitable to leave the person with and stand down.
“I’ve got a list of 30-odd examples, various things where the cops have been sent to calls because an ambulance hasn’t been available, or having to wait for a significant period of time for an ambulance to get there.
“It all goes back to the question of: where does the policing responsibility stop and start?”
In response, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We do not ask police officers to attend emergency situations instead of an ambulance crew or transport patients to hospital.
“For all 999 calls, the ambulance service will always dispatch the nearest, most appropriate response.”
READ MORE: Oliver Dowden claims Scotland is part of England in Nicola Sturgeon rant
Asked about the reports in parliament today, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “The police are not routinely filling in for the ambulance service.
“The Scottish Ambulance Service has not asked the police to take patients to hospital.”
She added: “Of course it may well be the case that if a police officer comes across somebody who needs to go to hospital, they will opt to transfer them to a hospital – but that is not as a result of a request from the Scottish Ambulance Service.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel