Sharp rise in number of urgent ambulance calls across Fife

Ambulances in Fife are taking longer to get to patients, new figures have revealed.

Freedom of information records show the average waiting time for a patient in a life-threatening situation is eight minutes and 36 seconds.

This exceeds the national target for “immediately lifethreatening”, calls which is eight minutes.

The longest time a patient in a critical condition in Fife had to wait for an ambulance in the last year was 16 minutes and nine seconds.

SNP MSP David Torrance, who serves Kirkcaldy, said there had been a massive increase in the number of urgent calls over the last two years.

He said ambulance staff should be congratulated for responding to such a large number of incidents.

“In 2016, there were just under 500. In 2018, there was just under 3,000. That’s a sixfold increase in the number of calls,” he said.

“You have a better chance of survival and it takes pressure off A&E staff when the patient arrives at the hospital because the patient is in a better condition in most cases.

“You’ve got to praise the ambulance staff who are working in Fife because they are responding to really extremely difficult situations amid the increasing pressures and demands on the service.”

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “Since 2016 we have focused on getting the right ambulance resource to patients, rather than simply sending the nearest crew in the quickest time possible.

“The results have been better outcomes for patients.

“Last year, for example, 62 more patients survived a cardiac arrest.”