Soup staff took man to A&E in a van
VOLUNTEERS had to rush a critically ill man to hospital themselves after being told of a long wait for an ambulance.
The Project Scotland workers were afraid the homeless man was dying from an overdose when they called 999 at 9.30pm on Wednesday near their soup stall on Glasgow’s Argyle Street.
but after being told no ambulance was available for three-and-a-half hours the volunteers rushed the man to hospital in the back of their outreach van.
When the ambulance service finally called back to say paramedics were on the way, it was 5.15am the next morning – more than seven hours later.
Charity chairman Colin McInnes revealed the man was given two naloxone pens but when they failed to work, and his pulse was very weak, they called 999 to be told of the long wait.
He said: “We have 30 minutes from giving that man naloxone to getting him medical help, so we decided we’d lift him into the van and rush him to the Royal Infirmary.
“The paramedics checked the guy there and he was unresponsive and a nurse brought a bed out from resus before they took him away into A&E.
“If we hadn’t got that man to hospital, I believe he would have died.”
The Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We are really sorry for the delay. We are currently facing significant, sustained pressure and extremely high demand.”
The Scottish Government blamed “the global pandemic and its multiple knock-on effects” for the “extreme pressure” the ambulance service is under.