A RETIRED GP is worried at the length of time ambulances sent from outwith East Lothian are taking to reach emergencies in the county.

Dr Donald Bremner, a doctor at The Harbours Medical Practice in Cockenzie for 25 years, is concerned that ambulances travelling from outside the county to 999 calls in East Lothian could be too late in reaching a casualty.

The 54-year-old had been travelling near his home between Garvald and Haddington recently when he spotted a cyclist lying on the road having suffered a broken leg.

An ambulance was called but, according to Dr Bremner, did not arrive until 45 minutes later, having travelled from Chirnside in the Scottish Borders.

Dr Bremner stressed that the crew were excellent in how they dealt with the man, but questioned why an ambulance was dispatched from the Borders.

He felt that more ambulances needed to be based in the county due to the high percentage of East Lothian’s population over the age of 75.

He said: “Elderly people naturally become ill and are sent to hospital.

“When they are sent to hospital, ambulances can be sent to various places and don’t get sent back to their base in East Lothian.”

Similarly, Dr Bremner felt there were a number of calls to NHS24, which resulted in an ambulance being sent out when it was not required.

He has the backing of the county’s MSP Iain Gray, who said it made “no sense to constituents” for an ambulance from the Borders to answer an emergency in Haddington – when Haddington had its own ambulance station.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service told the Courier that the average response time to a life-threatening emergency in the Lothians was “around six and a half minutes”.

He said: “Every 999 call is triaged to establish the clinical need of the patient so that the most appropriate ambulance response is arranged.

“The clinical triage process ensures that those with the most need are given the highest priority, which means that those cases that are not immediately life-threatening may wait longer.

“Ambulances are not restricted by geographic area and in the event of a potentially life-threatening case the nearest ambulance will be dispatched immediately.

“This means that if an East Lothian ambulance is returning from hospital in Edinburgh and is the nearest to a serious emergency in the city, then it will be dispatched to save a life.

“Similarly, ambulance crews from areas surrounding East Lothian may be dispatched to calls in the region if local crews are busy.

“Managing ambulance cover is a very dynamic process, as resources are constantly moving around.

“It can be affected by sudden surges in demand, weather conditions as well as traffic congestion and road closures.

“Ambulance shift patterns do vary, but in East Lothian there are generally four ambulances covering the region.

“They are based in Haddington and Prestonpans ambulance stations and tactically deployed to fire stations in Musselburgh and East Linton to spread cover.”

The county’s MSP, Iain Gray, described the ambulance response times in East Lothian as being “a long-running issue”, which he had raised with the Scottish Ambulance Service.

He added: “When the new ambulance station opened at Prestonpans, I was assured that this would help, but Dr Bremner’s experience suggests that the problem is continuing.

“The idea that an ambulance might have to come from Chirnside to answer a call in Haddington, where there is an ambulance base, just makes no sense to my constituents.

“I have been told by crews that it is not uncommon for them to end up answering calls in Edinburgh for a whole shift once they are at the infirmary.

“Dr Bremner has tried to raise his concerns directly with the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Health Secretary, and I have written to both of them on his behalf too.

“Unfortunately, we have received little more than bland assurances.

“Ambulances are supposed to respond within eight minutes, so waiting for 45 minutes as in this case is simply unacceptable.”