Scottish Ambulance Service loses 1,700 hours of staff time to hoax calls
Hoax callers are 'risking lives' by wasting crucial resources, according to the Ambulance Service
The Scottish Ambulance service lost more than 1,700 hours of staff time to hoax calls in the last eight years.
1,710 hours of resource time was spent dealing with malicious calls between January 2014 and September 2022.
The figure was released by the Scottish Ambulance Service to the Liberal Democrats following a freedom of information request.
In the twelve months leading up to September 30 this year, 133 hours were spent on hoax callers.
Risking lives
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "Every call handler tied up dealing with a malicious call is one who is unavailable to help save a life elsewhere.
"A small number of malicious individuals are conspiring to make their jobs harder than they need to be.
"The Scottish Government needs to educate the public about the consequences of wasting call handlers' time.
"They must also give the ambulance service an immediate injection of resources and capacity to tackle the long winter ahead."
Not victimless pranks
The Scottish Government said an additional £45 million has been allocated to the ambulance service over the next year.
A spokesman said: "These are not victimless pranks and they can potentially distract and divert vital resources and attention away from those who are in life-threatening situations.
"Our continued increased investment has seen a record number of additional staff join the Scottish Ambulance Service in 2021/22, with further recruitment also under way."
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "Anyone who calls 999 without a genuine need is potentially putting lives at risk by tying up valuable resources."