By Tim Pauling
Aberdeen Press and Journal
SCOTLAND — The first minister yesterday promised changes to the practice of ambulance crews being allowed to sit out 999 calls during tea breaks.
It follows concerns in the Moray village of Tomintoul that no progress has been made, seven months after the tragic death of local woman Mandy Mathieson.
Miss Mathieson, 33, suffered a fatal heart attack at her home, but it took paramedics from Grantown more than half an hour to arrive because a technician stationed a few hundred yards from her home at Tomintoul refused to attend as he was on his tea break.
Last night Miss Mathieson’s uncle spoke of the family’s disappointment over the delay in making changes. In late April a similar case occurred with the death of three-year-old Martyn Gray at Crieff. His parents battled for 45 minutes to save his life because the local ambulance crew was on its break and the replacement crew from elsewhere got lost twice.
Alex Salmond gave an assurance the system would be changed after being questioned by Conservative leader Annabel Goldie in the Scottish Parliament yesterday. Ms Goldie said after the Tomintoul incident Mr Salmond promised that investigations would be thorough and the conclusions would be spelled out to MSPs.
Asking what lessons had been learned, she said: “Tragically in April this happened again, a little boy this time, aged three, from Crieff died. He did not receive prompt medical attention even although in this case there was an ambulance only 10 minutes away, and again the crew was on a tea break.
“The ambulance service apparently diverts calls away from any crew on a tea break so I do accept the crew themselves may be unaware of a local emergency.”
Mr Salmond replied that the matter was “being treated very seriously” and added: “In the Tomintoul case, the facts of the case are well known, the facts have been investigated and reported on of course.”
“In the second case, as she rightly indicates, there are a number of issues that are still to be clarified in terms of the information that was available to staff.”
Mr Salmond said Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon would be happy to meet her and explain some of the “complications” that were emerging and what changes were necessary.
“She has my assurance that changes will be made and the health secretary will be able to provide full detail of the aspects that require agreement and not imposition,” he said. After first minister’s questions, Ms Goldie said something must be done before another tragedy occurred. “Serious injury, critical illness and imminent death, do not wait for tea breaks,” she said.
“This situation is unacceptable and it must change. An emergency service must cope with emergencies. Seven months ago, a tragedy occurred. In April it happened again. No MSP wants to contemplate having to raise this issue another time.”
The current rest break policy was introduced by the UK Government as part of its Agenda for Change pay modernisation programme in 2004.
Under the policy, crews are entitled to an uninterrupted break. In Scotland crews can opt out, for which they get a £250 annual payment and a further £5 each time they are disturbed during a break.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said rest breaks were managed to ensure “minimum impact” on available resources and staggered throu-ghout the day to ensure cover was available. But this could be challenging in rural areas where there may be only one of two crews on a shift.
An ambulance service spokesman said: “The Scottish Ambulance Service is in ongoing dialogue with government to seek a solution to the challenges that exist in complying with this policy.”
A statement from the Scottish Government said: “Scottish Government officials continue to meet with the Scottish Ambulance Service to consider the current arrangements in place. These urgent discussions are ongoing with a view to identifying a suitable way forward to address what is a complex issue, but the status quo cannot remain.”
After yesterday’s Holyrood exchanges, a government spokesman said ministers were seeking a change to the UK Agenda for Change rules, which the Scottish Ambulance Service is required to comply with.
Miss Mathieson’s uncle said last night the family was “severely disappointed” that talk of change had taken this long. Charlie Skene, of Tomintoul, said they were angry a plan was still not in place eight months on.
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