CALLS have been made for a second ambulance on a Hebridean island after a pensioner with heart problems was forced to wait two-and-a-half hours following a 999 call.
Mike Shepherd, who was later transferred to the Golden Jubilee Hospital near Glasgow as an emergency admission, had to remain in his sheltered housing flat in Tobermory, Mull, because the island’s one ambulance was answering another 999 call in Bunessan, a two-hour drive away.
During his wait the 74-year-old was comforted by a sheltered housing warden and a fast responder but tests to confirm his clinical condition could not be taken until he reached the island hospital at Craignure.
Mr Shepherd’s ordeal ended with his admission to hospital and then onto Oban Hospital for round-the-clock monitoring after the local doctor consulted with specialists in Glasgow.
He has now added his voice to the island community’s fight for a fast response vehicle to provide back-up for dual 999 calls.
He said: “I have had to have the ambulance before, about three times now they have had to come to me because of coronary problems, and it’s been here within half an hour. This time it was two-and a half hours.
“All the indications were that it was angina, but after having a triple bypass three years ago, they tell you if you get these pains ring an ambulance straight away, don’t take a chance.
“I think the situation is absolutely ridiculous because the island is so big, there are single track roads and particularly at this time of year, with extra ferries coming across, the roads are busy.”
The patient the ambulance was responding to when it was unable to attend to Mr Shepherd, Ann MacNeill, 67, had experienced breathing difficulties and has since had a heart valve replaced.
She said her daughter phoned for the ambulance after NHS 24 failed to return an earlier call for help and added: “I would say it needs a second ambulance to cover the whole of Mull.”
Islanders recently voiced a lack of confidence in the Scottish Ambulance Service’s (SAS) level of cover at an NHS drop-in meeting at Bunessan last week.
Mull councillor Mary-Jean Devon asked for the residents’ message to be relayed back to the Scottish Government.
She said: “People are now feeling very vulnerable, when they know that it can take two-and-a-half hours to get an ambulance. People don’t feel safe.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said a review group had been examining ambulance provision on Mull and Iona and arrangements were being finalised for “a fresh mechanism” for discussions between the community, NHS Highland and SAS.”
An SAS spokesman said all calls were prioritised on clinical need to ensure the most appropriate response and added: “The service has enhanced ambulance cover in Mull with a second paramedic, creating 24/7 paramedic cover, as well as the establishment of community first responder schemes and two 24/7 landing sites for air ambulance helicopters. We will continue to monitor ambulance provision closely.”
Mr Shepherd added: “This time it wasn’t desperate for me, although it could have been with my symptoms.
“But if somebody has a stroke they have to do something quick, not in two-and-a-half hours.” Somebody could be in extreme pain or injury, with internal bleeding.
“Old people tend to get a bit anxious about things, people are worrying, but you shouldn’t have to think about that and live with it all the time in your mind.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel