Ambulance service under-resourced says union
The public sector union Unison is telling Clyde 1 pressure on paramedics and technicians is huge, and they don't have enough resources.
They're responding to stories from patients about waiting for hours in agony for ambulances to arrive after 999 calls.
Regional Organiser David O'Connor told us: "Over the past years we've seen a greater demand on the service without a matching increase in resources.
"People have an expectation that we want to deliver but unfortunately we don't have the resourses and as a trade union we are campaiging for.
"We've seen a greater demand on the service without a matching increase in resources. " - Unison
"Our staff try to deliver the best service, however we are under extreme pressure with under-staffing and don't have enough vehicles etc
"We aim to get to patients as quickly as we can when they call and respond appropriately, however we are under pressure.
"We would ask people to consider whether they can safely make their way to an accident and emergency centre, and if they can we would ask they do that."
16-year-old Amy Allan from Largs told us how she waited for nearly four hours as she waited for help after dislocating her shoulder on Tuesday 7th January.
She called for an ambulance around 6.20pm on Tuesday 7th January but it didn’t arrive until around 10pm and her family were given advice not to move her.
She said, “I was in extreme discomfort, screaming and crying with the pain."
In another case, Maureen Collins, told us how her 14-year-old son Adam had to get a disabled taxi to hospital at midnight after breaking his leg at football training in December.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “At the time of both of these calls we were experiencing high demand; all our calls are prioritised to ensure the sickest, most seriously ill patients are given the highest priority. We will be contacting the patients’ families to apologise.”
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