THE most critically ill patients in Turriff are waiting more than twice as long for an ambulance than those in other parts of the region despite receiving a new, dedicated vehicle aimed at reducing call-out times.
New figures have revealed “code purple” patients are waiting an average of 30 minutes for an ambulance to reach them in the town, despite the fact the national service has a target time of just eight minutes.
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These are people in life-threatening conditions and are identified as having a 10% or more chance of having a cardiac arrest.
The waiting time for Turriff has almost doubled from last year when patients in a critical condition waited 16 minutes.
This is despite a new, dedicated ambulance being brought in to be on standby at Turriff Fire Station last year.
In contrast, ambulances arrived at category purple incidents in nearby Banff within 14 minutes. Meanwhile, across other parts of Aberdeenshire, paramedics were at the scene in 7 minutes in Huntly, 8 minutes in Stonehaven and 16 minutes in Banchory.
The surge in ambulance waiting times for Turriff also comes after the town’s minor injuries unit (MIU) only partially reopened after Covid, meaning the opening hours of the facility were reduced.
This is coupled with the decision to close Huntly, Peterhead and Fraserburgh MIUs overnight.
Scottish Conservative MP for Gordon and Buchan, Harriet Cross, said: “These figures are a shocking reflection of the scale of the crisis facing the Scottish Ambulance Service and highlight an incredibly worrying trend for rural patients living in areas such as Turriff.
“This alarming situation is exacerbated by slow turnaround times, record waits at A&E, and the reduced opening hours of our Aberdeenshire MIUs, which is often forcing patients to call an ambulance to take them to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“For patients suffering strokes or heart attacks, minutes could be the difference between life and death.
“Lives shouldn’t be put at risk, nor should residents be left in fear by a lack of ambulance provision in their town.
“I will be contacting the Scottish Ambulance Service to identify the issues it is experiencing and how these are being addressed for residents in Turriff and beyond.
“The Scottish Government must also identify measures to alleviate spiralling ambulance waiting times like these before more lives are lost.”
