Aviemore left without local 999 response
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
AVIEMORE was on course to be left with no immediate 999 ambulance response for four straight days in a row this past week despite it being the busiest time of year for the village.
It is understood a combination of the on-call system and holiday leave meant Aviemore had no doorstep coverage for Monday and most of Tuesday. That would have continued but a bank paramedic was eventually able to be brought in halfway through the period to provide a single-manned service.
Two days had been due to lost because of fatigue breaks and two to cover holiday leave at the ambulance base off Grampian Road.
GMB Scotland said this highlights that current staff work patterns in some rural communities including the strath are unsustainable and not fit for the 21st century.
The Scottish Ambulance Service has stressed it "provides full coverage at all times, including this last week".
The union and the Strathy have been campaigning for the outdated system – which now predominantly only operates in the Highlands in Scotland – to be replaced by shift patterns which would provide 24/7 cover for the Aviemore area and ease pressure on the service elsewhere locally.
John Marr, branch secretary for the GMB at SAS, said ahead of the staff cover being found in time for Tuesday afternoon: "This situation is exactly why the GMB has been calling on the Scottish Government and the SAS to fund stations such as Aviemore and Golspie by the busy A9 to allow them to be staffed 24/7 so that such a dangerous situation can not arise again.
"Tourism numbers are rising year on year because of the popularity of the Cairngorms as a visitor destination and starring roles on the screen such as in Outlander.
"The village's population is growing all the time with new houses. The move to scrap on-call at Aviemore is long overdue."
An SAS spokesperson said: "Ensuring we can provide safe care for patients at all times is our priority which is why Aviemore ambulance station provides full coverage at all times including this last week."
