MORE than 10,000 ambulances have been dispatched with only one crew member on board in the last four years – despite promises to end the practice except in “exceptional circumstances”.
Figures show there were more than 2,200 occasions in the last financial year alone where paramedics were forced to attend an emergency on their own.
This is despite then-health secretary Nicola Sturgeon ordering ambulance bosses to end single-staffing in 2008.
The First Minister said at the time: "The policy of the Scottish Government is clear – traditional accident and emergency ambulances should be double crewed, with at least one member being a paramedic, unless in exceptional circumstances."
Statistics released to the Scottish Conservatives under Freedom of Information laws reveal single-crewed journeys occurred an average of six times every day in 2016/17.
While there was a drop in single-staffing from 2015/16, the number of paramedics attending an emergency on their own has risen by 504 since 2013/14 – the first year in which information is available.
Ambulance bosses said there were more than 670,000 shifts over this period – meaning only 1.5 per cent were single-crewed.
It comes as Scots A&E units failed to meet key waiting time targets in December amid a boom in patient numbers.
One health board – NHS Lanarkshire – announced it was redeploying office staff and postponing non-urgent procedures in the face of soaring demand.
Scottish Tory public health spokeswoman Annie Wells said the extent of single-staffing in ambulances was “unacceptable”.
She said: “Everyone accepts that in the emergency services there will always be times where rules have to be bent and people need to adapt to developing situations.
“But for single crews to be sent out on 10,000 occasions in four years – when the specific policy is not to do that – is unacceptable.
“The SNP government has to take responsibility for this. Nicola Sturgeon herself said she would end this practice nearly a decade ago, but next to no progress has been made.
“It’s simply not fair on hard-working ambulance staff to continually expect them to hit the road on their own.
“We need to see a clear plan from the Scottish Government to help them out.”
Bosses said single-crewed ambulances are only sent out in “exceptional circumstances, such as unplanned staff absences”.
Last year, the sickness rate within the Scottish Ambulance Service was 7.6 per cent – above the target of five per cent and the private sector average of 1.9 per cent.
Unison, Scotland’s biggest health service trade union, previously warned lives were being put in danger due to dangerously low staffing levels over the festive period.
But Health Secretary Shona Robison said the number of paramedics has risen in the last ten years.
She said: “The number of instances of single crewing remains low in comparison with the actual number of shifts across Scotland, taking into account the patterns of greatest demand for the service.
“The number of paramedics in Scotland between September 2007 and June 2017 increased by 13.9 per cent, with staffing in the Scottish Ambulance Service up by 16.5 per cent overall during that time, and despite increasing levels of demand, our crews are saving the lives of more patients than ever before.
“We’ve invested almost £900 million in the Scottish Ambulance Service in the last four years, and we’re committed to supporting the service to train an additional 1,000 paramedics over the next four years.
“This will help reduce pressure on A&E and to support primary care transition, and we will continue to work closely with them to reduce single crewing across Scotland.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “The statistics being quoted need to be seen within the wider context of over 670,000 shifts across this period, meaning only 1.5 per cent of these were single crewed.
“Ambulances are not routinely single-crewed other than in exceptional circumstances, such as unplanned staff absences, but when this does happen, they are tasked appropriately and backed up as necessary to ensure patient and staff safety.
“We continue to recruit and train staff across the service to ensure we provide a high level of patient care at all times.”
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