LOCAL LIBDEMS MAKING PROGRESS ON NEWCASTLETON AMBULANCES (Jim Hume)

LOCAL LIBDEMS MAKING PROGRESS ON NEWCASTLETON AMBULANCES

December 14, 2007 12:00 AM

Jim Hume, MSP for the South of Scotland, and Ron Smith, Councillor for Hawick & Hermitage, today met with senior officials of the Scottish Ambulance Service to discuss ongoing concerns about the ambulance provision between Langholm and Newcastleton.

Jim Hume said:-

"Ron and I have been pursuing the problems with the local service for some months now. Residents will know that an ambulance used to be stationed at Newcastleton full time, but that changed when the ambulance was removed and relocated to Langholm.

"The difficulty has been with response times and residents have complained that ambulances are taking too long to get to the scene of an incident. There can be no compromise when lives are at risk and it was imperative to get an assurance from the Service that steps will be taken to improve their record.

"What should happen is that when a 999 call is made from Newcastleton, that call should be put through to the Paisley call centre after which an ambulance is dispatched from Langholm. However, what's been happening is that 999 calls have been redirected to Edinburgh call centre and ambulances from Hawick have been dispatched which means a longer response time. Sam Kennedy, the General Manager for the South West, agreed to make sure that all Newcastleton 999 calls are directed to the Paisley call centre.

"And helpfully, the Service agreed to look into the possibility of having an ambulance stationed at Canonbie which would significantly help in reducing response times as it takes less than half the time to get to Newcastleton from Canonbie than if the ambulance is dispatched from Hawick.

"Finally, the Service confirmed that it would be in a position to assist the Newcastleton First Responders with continued training and the cost of their radio rental which allows them to use an up to the minute communication system.

"All in all the meeting was a positive one, but both Ron and I will be continuing to press the Ambulance Service on the points discussed."

Councillor Ron Smith added:-

"I'm grateful to Jim for organising this meeting.

"By sitting around the table with the people most concerned - representatives of the local community, of the First Responders team, and GP Howard Kennedy - we were able to identify the areas in which progress needed to be made, and we feel that the Ambulance Service personnel went away with ideas which could be worked on to improve the situation in Liddesdale."