Elderly man left lying on street for an hour

ambulance: Bank holiday demand blamed for delay in coming to pensioner’s aid

An 85-year-old man was left lying on a wet street for almost an hour after a fall on Monday.

Good Samaritans found him on the kerb on Westfield Place in the West End just after 7.30pm and called an ambulance.

However, the ambulance did not arrive until 8.30pm.

A passing doctor, who came to the man’s aid at around 8.15pm, called to check whether a crew was on its way – having assessed the man and deciding it would be unsafe to try and move him.

The Scottish Ambulance Service apologised for the delay, blaming bank holiday demand for stretching the service.

Lorraine Dawson, a local chaplain who made the initial 999 call, said it was “shocking” how long it took for a crew to arrive.

She added: “We called on three separate occasions and were told by the call handler each time not to move him and keep him still.

“He had to be covered in blankets and jackets from passers-by, but it was quite undignified how long he had to wait.”

Tory MSP Bill Bowman said: “I will be taking this up with the Scottish Ambulance Service to see if there are improvements that can be made, or if there are simply not enough staff or vehicles in the Dundee area.”

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “We experienced very high demand for our services over the holiday weekend, and are sorry for the delay that this patient experienced.

“We are currently recruiting and training additional ambulance technicians and paramedics which will help meet additional demand.

“We encourage all patients who are dissatisfied with the service they have received to contact our patient experience team to enable us to explain the circumstances around the delay and see if any lessons can be learned.”

Health secretary Shona Robison said: “Scottish Government officials have been liaising with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

“Unnecessarily long waiting times are unacceptable and when required, ambulances should be dispatched as soon as possible.

“Despite increasing demand, our ambulance crews are saving more lives than ever before.

“We are focused on improving clinical outcomes and ensuring that the right resource is sent to patients first time.

“The Scottish Government has invested an additional £6.3 million in the ambulance service for 2017-18 to deliver our commitment to train 1,000 more paramedics.

“The Scottish Ambulance Service is also providing additional vehicles across Scotland to ensure patients who need an urgent response receive one as quickly as possible.”

We called on three separate occasions and were told by the call handler each time not to move him and to keep him still. LORRAINE DAWSON