ScotGov looking into North's ambulance safety
Minister wants claims of crews falling asleep at the wheel investigated.
Last updated 2nd Feb 2018
The Health Secretary's asked officials to look into concerns raised with the UK's safety watchdog after claims the North's over-stretched ambulance workers are falling asleep at the wheel.
"I was disappointed to learn the Cabinet Secretary was not aware of issues that have been raised by HSE" DOUGLAS ROSS MSP
Unions are preparing to meet with ambulance bosses later this month, after a vote of no confidence in management by 95-per-cent of Unite members balloted.
Moray-based MSP Douglas Ross claims Shona Robison was not aware that the Health and Safety executive is considering launching an investigation.
He told MFR News: "I was disappointed to learn at a meeting, that the Cabinet Secretary was not aware of issues that have been raised by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
"She has now instructed her officials to look into this further, but this was a significant issue in the far North and I expected that Shona Robinson would be fully aware of it."
"I also spoke to the cabinet secretary about the issues between staff and their unions and management.
"I was assured that the Government is keeping a close eye on this situation and will receive further updates in mid-April when unions and staff meet again to discuss any progress that has been made to alleviate the very real concerns that have been expressed so far."
"There is no doubt that ambulance staff and technicians are doing an excellent job but often their efforts are hampered by decisions taken by management and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
"I was also advised about the addition of a logistics officer within Dr Grays, an appointment that was made following concerns highlighted by staff, including low levels of oxygen available on ambulances and the availability of some ambulances to promptly respond to calls."
Our political correspondent Alan Smith told the Scottish Government's Health Secretary: "Drivers falling asleep at the wheel is one claim that's been made to us - those are extremely worrying claims."
"It's very, very important that any concerns raised are properly investigated" HEALTH SECRETARY
Shona Robison replied: "We would expect the Scottish Ambulance Service to fully investigate those claims and to make sure that any issues of concerns are addressed.
"It's very, very important that any concerns raised are properly investigated.
"We require the Scottish Ambulance Service to have policies in place to ensure that concerns within the workplace are addressed.
"We want to make sure that the Scottish Ambulance Service are addressing concerns.
"I understand that there was a very productive meeting with the union earlier in March, and that there are further meetings planned to address some of these concerns being raised."
A couple of weeks ago an MFR News investigation revealed that the Scottish Ambulance Service has come to the attention of HSE, and we broke the story on-air, followed by a week-long series of special reports into the struggling emergency service.
CLICK HERE to watch more about the investigation's findings...
The national music and conversation radio show Scotland's Talk In featured the MFR News investigation live on the national airwaves to mark the end of the coverage.
Following the broadcasts NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service jointly announced an extra £400,000 of funding for ambulance operations in Caithness, but NHS Grampian remains silent on whether it will follow the neighbouring health board's lead, and also pay its way towards a service its non-emergency patients are using for transport between Dr Grays Hospital in Elgin, and Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Our press query to NHS Grampian remains ignored, and the Scottish Ambulance Service has yet to respond to our questions on whether the extra cash is a one-off, and how long a period the funding's expected to last for - despite our newsroom asking last Friday (March 31st).