Medic 'diverted ambulance to go shopping'
The patient was reportedly not affected by the detour
By Melissa Clark
Daily Record & Sunday Mail
FIFE, Scotland — An ambulance driver stopped to shop at a computer store while responding to a call, it has been claimed.
A whistleblower alleges the driver visited Currys PC World on the way to a 999 call from a doctor.
The emergency services worker claims the detour could have put the Fife patient's life at risk.
Yesterday, the Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed they are probing an "unauthorised diversion" but denied that patient care had been compromised.
But the whistleblower said: "It's crazy. As soon as you hit 'mobile' on the screen and leave the station, you go to that address. You don't go via shops.
"They stopped at PC World in Dunfermline on the way to a doctor's urgent call."
The shop at Halbeath Retail Park is about three miles from the station.
The insider admitted: "Half the doctors' calls are a waste of time but some are spot-on and that person needs to go to hospital immediately.
"You never do it, you never divert - you've no idea what you are going to.
"It's not fair the patient is getting a delay to treatment and transport because someone is going shopping."
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We are investigating an instance of unauthorised diversion during a response to a non-emergency call.
"While patient care was not affected, it did not meet the high standards of professionalism that our patients expect and is currently being dealt with internally in an appropriate manner."
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: "We would expect the Scottish Ambulance Service to thoroughly investigate any such matter and welcome the confirmation that they are doing so."
'You never do it, you never divert - you've no idea what you're going to'
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