THURSDAY’S newspapers were filled with heart-breaking stories of the human consequences of the ambulance waiting times crisis. The service has been under acute pressure in recent weeks due, in part, to the delays in turnaround times in A&E.
At FMQs, the mood was sombre. Nobody was in any doubt about what issue the two main opposition leaders would raise with the First Minister: the only question was how she would respond.
Douglas Ross began by raising one such case.
“This morning, we all read in shock and horror about 65-year-old Gerard Brown, who died after a 40-hour wait for an ambulance. When the paramedics reached him, all they could do was pronounce him as dead. His body was still warm.”
Mr Brown’s son was told by his GP that if the ambulance had got to him sooner, his dad would still be alive.
“What does the First Minister have to say to Gerard Brown’s GP, who said that this is ‘third-world medicine’? And what does the First Minister have to say to Dylan Brown, who is grieving the death of his father, who should still be alive?”
Nicola Sturgeon offered her condolences to Mr Brown’s family and said, while individual cases would need to be investigated fully, the scenario described by newspapers about Mr Brown’s death is “unacceptable”.
“Our ambulance service is working under acute pressure right now, largely due to Covid” she said.
“..I recognise that some people are not getting the standard of service that they should be getting…that is not acceptable and I apologise unreservedly to anyone that has suffered or who is suffering unacceptably long waits.”
READ MORE: Army to be called in to help Scotland's Ambulance Service, Nicola Sturgeon says
She went on to lay out a “range of actions” that the Scottish Government has already undertaken to try and fix the crisis, including additional funding, and said that more would be done in the coming days.
“I can confirm now that this includes consideration of seeking targeted military assistance to help deal with short-term pressure points.”
She also announced that the Health Secretary, Humza Yousaf, would be giving an update to parliament next week.
As both Douglas Ross and Anas Sarwar went through the harrowing, human, details of the ambulance waiting times crisis, the First Minister looked uncharacteristically unsettled. She pointed out that these are challenges that are mirrored elsewhere in the UK, but acknowledged that when it comes to Scotland’s health service, the buck stops with her.
Far be it for me to praise Douglas Ross two weeks in a row but, save for his repeated and unnecessary demand that the First Minister use the word “crisis” to describe the, well … crisis – his line of questioning was focused and useful.
Those weeks where the issue at hand is so important that it transcends party politics and allegiances always show Holyrood at its best. They aren’t the best for sketch writers – devoid as they are of the silliness and petty bickering that makes politics so entertaining – but they do help make for better governance.
That’s why it was a shame to see Murdo Fraser reduce the harrowing details of what had been discussed during FMQs in an inane tweet about it being the “BRITISH” army that would be providing targeted assistance to the ambulance service.
That’ll be the BRITISH Army 🇬🇧 https://t.co/eftpD92Jfi
— Murdo Fraser (@murdo_fraser) September 16, 2021
We’re talking about real people who have suffered real – avoidable – tragedies and our politicians should be mindful of that. And if they find that too difficult, they should probably stay off Twitter.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel