The Perthshire couple whose son died while they waited for an ambulance to arrive have been contacted by another family who lost a loved one in similar circumstances.
Lisa and Martin Gray had to wait an agonising 48 minutes for an ambulance to reach their home while they fought to revive three-year-old son Martyn, who died.
The case which has been raised with the First Minister caught the attention of the family of Mandy Mathieson of Tomintoul, who felt there were parallels to both deaths.
Controversially, the response time in each case was lengthened by the fact ambulance crews were on meal breaks, meaning help had to be summoned from further afield.
Having previously called an ambulance to their home at Park Cottages, near Crieff, Mr and Mrs Gray knew it could take as little as 10 minutes a fraction of the response time on this occasion.
“We do not know if his life could have been saved if the ambulance had taken 10 minutes we will never know that,” said Mrs Gray following the death of her son in April.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has admitted that a number of factors including the ambulance crew called from Stirling getting lost extended the time the emergency services took to attend.
In the case of Mandy Mathieson, 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 15 miles from Grantown to Tomintoul. Miss Mathieson died at the scene.
Mr and Mrs Gray have been supported by friends and family following their loss, but now Miss Mathieson’s brother Charles has contacted them.
“He got in touch with us offering support and any advice. It was very helpful,” said Mr Gray.
The couple said they were also grateful to Annabel Goldie for raising their case in parliament.
Paramedics have defended the service, saying the 45-minute unpaid breaks were imposed on them.
Mr Gray said it was his understanding that crews can waive undisturbed breaks for a yearly payment of £250 and a small call-out payment.
The Scottish Ambulance Service says it is a “complex issue” and is in talks with the Scottish Government to find a solution.