Ambulance chiefs to apologise to Fifeman for 40-minute wait

Councillor critical of firefighters for driving past without stopping

Ambulance chiefs say they will apologise to a Fife man who was left lying on the road for more than half an hour.

The 61-year-old suffered a seizure while walking his dog on the A955 near Buckhaven on Wednesday – however, ambulance controllers were responding to a high volume of calls at the time and it took around 40 minutes for a crew to reach him.

The alarm was raised at around 6.20pm, but a councillor who was at the scene said an ambulance did not arrive until around 7pm.

Labour councillor Colin Davidson said he and another member of the public called 999 when they found the man.

While he praised Good Samaritans who assisted the man as they waited for the ambulance to arrive – in particular four women who stopped to help – he was critical of a number of motorists who drove past, including a fire crew.

He said the man was unconscious for several minutes but was sitting up in the ambulance by the time he left the scene. It is understood he was later discharged from hospital.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We will be contacting the patient to apologise for the delay.”

Fire service area commander Roddie Keith said firefighters thought the incident was a broken down vehicle and continued on their way to a home fire safety visit in East Wemyss.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “Police officers were called to the report of a man found at the side of the road, on the A955 between Buckhaven and East Wemyss. Officers attended along with ambulance crew and a 61-year-old man was found with a small cut to his head.

“He was taken to hospital by ambulance where he was checked over.”

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Police officers were called to the report of a man found at the side of the road, on the A955 between Buckhaven and East Wemyss. POLICE SCOTLAND