The parents of a tragic Perthshire toddler say they finally feel some ”closure” after hearing the news a tea-break deal has been struck with the country’s paramedics.
Though nothing will bring back Martyn Gray, who died after waiting more than 45 minutes for an ambulance, his father Martin said other young lives would be saved.
Mr Gray (32) and his wife Lisa (33) have been campaigning for a change in the regulations which meant crews on official rest periods weren’t notified of 999 calls since they lost their three-year-old in April.
When Martyn fell ill at their previous home on the outskirts of Crieff, paramedics were on a break and an ambulance had to make the 25-mile journey from Stirling. Unsure of the Strathearn area, the driver got lost on the way and the panic-stricken couple were forced to give directions over the telephone.
After months of haggling between union leaders and the Scottish Government, it was announced on Wednesday that ambulance staff had finally agreed to interrupt tea breaks to respond to emergency calls after securing a deal worth the equivalent of 15 extra days’ holiday each year.
Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs the long-running dispute had been resolved by a package of measures that will also include 150 extra staff hired at the cost of £5m.
Under the new plans, staff will move to a 37.5-hour paid week inclusive of rest periods, and will be required to attend 999 calls throughout their shift period.
Previously, staff were rostered for 40 hours per week, paid for 37.5 hours and entitled to 2.5 hours of unpaid rest periods, when they would not respond to emergency calls.
Speaking exclusively to The Courier, Mr Gray said he felt a sense of relief.
”It was getting to the stage we thought there would never be an agreement,” he said. ”Nothing can bring Martyn back but at least we now know that more families shouldn’t have to go through what we’ve been through.”
Mr Gray revealed he had received a letter from the chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service on Wednesday morning, notifying him that there had been a resolution.
Mr Gray said: ”The letter said a deal had been struck but didn’t list the details so we made sure we were in front of a TV at 2.30pm to see it announced live.
”We want to thank Nicola Sturgeon as she stuck to her word. She also made a valid point in parliament that paramedics offer an ’emergency’ service, not just an ‘essential’ service which is something we feel strongly about noting.”
The couple, who have three other children, are now concentrating on the future.
Mr Gray said: ”We can never move on from what happened Martyn will always be in our thoughts but we can finally start moving forward. It has brought us a bit of closure.”
Martyn’s death came after a similar incident in which Moray woman Mandy Mathieson died in October 2010.
Continued…
Trainee technician Owen McLauchlan chose not to respond after Ms Mathieson suffered a cardiac arrest at her home ”two minutes” from his depot at Tomintoul because he was on a meal break.
Ms Mathieson (33) did not receive help from emergency services for nearly half an hour and was pronounced dead by an ambulance crew sent from Grantown, 15 miles away.
Ms Mathieson’s brother, Charles, said the deal was a ”step in the right direction”.
Mr Mathieson, of Strathdon, said: ”It certainly sounds good but I am always sceptical. An extra 150 staff will be good. But the staff need ambulances, and I’m not sure if the £5 million covers that.”
At Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said: ”The rejection of the most recent offer made it very clear to me that a radically different proposal would be required in order to reach a solution to this issue and that is what has been found.
”For remote and rural areas it will support increased numbers of community paramedics able to work in and with communities.”
Ms Sturgeon also noted that no individual staff member would benefit financially from being forced to attend an emergency during a break.
She said: ”I welcome a resolution that clearly demonstrates what I have always known and believed to be the case that the priority of ambulance staff is their patients, not their personal gain.”
But Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie raised concerns the arrangements for emergency calls means serious cases could still face a delay in an ambulance being dispatched.
She said ‘red’ emergency calls had been recategorised as ‘yellow’, with only the former meriting disturbance to a rest break. Ms Baillie said the categorisation was based on whether the caller called 999, NHS24 or a GP.
She said: ”I welcome that a deal has been struck because ambulance workers deserve a fair deal for the hours they work, but I am gravely concerned that this deal has come at a cost patient safety.
”Numerous paramedics have written to me anonymously expressing their concerns about the impact the call categorisation system is having on public safety.”
She called for an inquiry into categorisation of calls to ensure the new system would not jeopardise safety.
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said his members had worked ”long and hard” for the agreement.
He said: ”These proposals benefit both patients and staff, helping to deliver the best service possible for the public and moving towards a resolution on working time that the workforce have long campaigned for.”
The agreement follows lengthy negotiations which saw unions reject a previous offer of a lump-sum payment of £1,500 plus a payment of £100 on each call-out during a break.
Trainee technician Owen McLauchlan chose not to respond after Ms Mathieson suffered a cardiac arrest at her home ”two minutes” from his depot at Tomintoul because he was on a meal break.
Ms Mathieson (33) did not receive help from emergency services for nearly half an hour and was pronounced dead by an ambulance crew sent from Grantown, 15 miles away.
Ms Mathieson’s brother, Charles, said the deal was a ”step in the right direction”.
Mr Mathieson, of Strathdon, said: ”It certainly sounds good but I am always sceptical. An extra 150 staff will be good. But the staff need ambulances, and I’m not sure if the £5 million covers that.”
At Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon said: ”The rejection of the most recent offer made it very clear to me that a radically different proposal would be required in order to reach a solution to this issue and that is what has been found.
”For remote and rural areas it will support increased numbers of community paramedics able to work in and with communities.”
Ms Sturgeon also noted that no individual staff member would benefit financially from being forced to attend an emergency during a break.
She said: ”I welcome a resolution that clearly demonstrates what I have always known and believed to be the case that the priority of ambulance staff is their patients, not their personal gain.”
But Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie raised concerns the arrangements for emergency calls means serious cases could still face a delay in an ambulance being dispatched.
She said ‘red’ emergency calls had been recategorised as ‘yellow’, with only the former meriting disturbance to a rest break. Ms Baillie said the categorisation was based on whether the caller called 999, NHS24 or a GP.
She said: ”I welcome that a deal has been struck because ambulance workers deserve a fair deal for the hours they work, but I am gravely concerned that this deal has come at a cost patient safety.
”Numerous paramedics have written to me anonymously expressing their concerns about the impact the call categorisation system is having on public safety.”
She called for an inquiry into categorisation of calls to ensure the new system would not jeopardise safety.
Unite Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said his members had worked ”long and hard” for the agreement.
He said: ”These proposals benefit both patients and staff, helping to deliver the best service possible for the public and moving towards a resolution on working time that the workforce have long campaigned for.”
The agreement follows lengthy negotiations which saw unions reject a previous offer of a lump-sum payment of £1,500 plus a payment of £100 on each call-out during a break.