The Scottish Government has confirmed it has put forward a formal proposal that ambulance staff can be disturbed during a break to answer a 999 call.
A national debate has been taking place after two patients died while paramedic crews were on breaks.
In April, the family of three-year-old Martyn Gray had to wait 48 minutes for an ambulance to reach their Crieff home as they tried to resuscitate him. Martyn died while waiting for paramedics to arrive.
One ambulance was less than 10 minutes away but did not respond as staff were on a break.
The case, which was raised with the First Minister, mirrored the death of Tomintoul’s Mandy Mathieson, who died before an ambulance crew reached her from Grantown, 21 miles away. An ambulance technician was sitting in the village ambulance depot a few yards away from her home but was on a break.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has since admitted that a number of factors, including the ambulance crew called from Stirling getting lost, extended the time the emergency services took to attend the Crieff tragedy.
In Miss Mathieson’s case a driver at a depot near her home chose not to respond to a 999 call as he was on a break, leading to a crew having to drive from Grantown. Miss Mathieson died at the scene.
As a result of the fall-out from the tragedies, union bosses have called on the Scottish Government to carry out a public inquiry and investigate the matter.
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon has now confirmed that talks have taken place between the government and ambulance service with a view to resolving the situation.
She said, “The tragic incidents in Tomintoul and Crieff have shown us that current arrangements for handling rest breaks in the Scottish Ambulance Service can’t remain in place and I am committed to addressing this issue urgently.Proposal”That is why urgent discussions have been taking place between the Scottish Ambulance Service management, all of the trades unions involved and the Scottish Government to try and find a solution.
“As a result of those talks a formal proposal has been put to all unions which supports the presumption that rest breaks are protected where possible. However, it does allow for staff to be disturbed during a rest break on the rare occasions when they are identified as the most suitable to respond to a category-A 999 call. In these circumstances the proposal provides for both financial compensation and compensatory rest.
“I would encourage all unions to consider this fully and work to resolve this untenable situation as quickly as possible. I am committed to addressing this issue urgently and await the formal response to the formal proposal which is expected imminently.”
Senior organiser of GMB Scotland Mick Conroy said the existing rest break policy has had a “devastating” effect on staff morale.
“The feeling from the stewards is that they’re not happy with the way the Scottish Ambulance Service is being run,” Mr Conroy said. “If there’s bad news about the ambulance service it always seems to be the crews who are blamed.
“We believe that the people of Scotland aren’t getting a good service and that’s what’s worrying the crews. Staff morale is at rock bottom.”
A spokesman for the government said on Tuesday, “We have received a letter this morning from the GMB asking for a public inquiry. We will consider the request and respond in due course.”