{"id":1269245,"date":"2022-12-23T04:17:41","date_gmt":"2022-12-23T04:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/23\/ambulance-service-urges-rethink-before-calling-999-over-christmas\/"},"modified":"2022-12-23T04:17:41","modified_gmt":"2022-12-23T04:17:41","slug":"ambulance-service-urges-rethink-before-calling-999-over-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/12\/23\/ambulance-service-urges-rethink-before-calling-999-over-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Ambulance service urges rethink before calling 999 over Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<style scoped=\"\"><![CDATA[\n\n\/* custom css *\/\n.tdi_105{\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\n                }.tdi_105 > .wpb_wrapper,\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_105 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_105 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_105 > .wpb_wrapper > 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    .tdi_108 > p,\n                .tdi_108 .tdb-block-inner > p{\n\t\t\t        font-family:Roboto !important;font-size:15px !important;line-height:1.5 !important;font-weight:400 !important;\n\t\t        }.tdi_108 .tdb-block-inner blockquote p{\n\t\t\t        font-family:Roboto !important;font-size:24px !important;line-height:1 !important;font-style:normal !important;\n\t\t        }\n}\n\n\/* phone *\/\n@media (max-width: 767px){\n.tdi_108,\n                .tdi_108 > p,\n                .tdi_108 .tdb-block-inner > p{\n\t\t\t        font-family:Roboto !important;font-size:15px !important;line-height:1.5 !important;font-weight:400 !important;\n\t\t        }.tdi_108 .tdb-block-inner blockquote p{\n\t\t\t        font-family:Roboto !important;font-size:20px !important;line-height:1 !important;font-style:normal !important;\n\t\t        }.tdi_108 .wp-caption-text,\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_108 figcaption{\n\t\t\t        font-family:Roboto !important;font-size:11px !important;line-height:1.2 !important;font-style:normal !important;\n\t\t        }\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\"><b class=\"ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3\">People are being urged to reconsider whether they need an ambulance, before calling 999 over Christmas.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">This week has seen calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) up 25% on the same period in previous years. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">It is believed to be a result of recent bad weather, a rise in flue cases and limited resources from a Covid backlog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said efforts were being made to address ambulance waiting times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Health workers were providing help  over the phone or in their homes to help alleviate pressure on emergency departments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"unordered-list-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1o5f7ft-BulletListContainer e5tfeyi0\">\n<ul role=\"list\">\n<li>The latest headlines from Scotland<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Last week, one in 10 ambulances in Ayrshire and Arran waited over four hours outside an emergency department to hand over a patient. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">And the SAS recently apologised after a patient was airlifted to Glasgow Airport when no ambulance was available for a 300 yard transfer from the helipad at Crosshouse Hospital in East Ayrshire.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Chief executive of the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) Pauline Howie told BBC Scotland the service was \u201cextremely busy\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cDemand over the last week has been up 25% on what we would normally expect, which is often a very, very busy time of year,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cWe suspect that that is due to a combination of the bad weather, an increase in respiratory illnesses, and a backlog due to Covid. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cWe are trying our very best to do what we can to prioritise patients and focus our limited resources on those that have got the most time-critically unwell conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"image-block\" class=\"ssrcss-18mjolk-ComponentWrapper ep2nwvo1\">\n<figure class=\"ssrcss-wpgbih-StyledFigure e34k3c23\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-ab5fd8-StyledFigureContainer e34k3c21\"><span class=\"ssrcss-11kpz0x-Placeholder e16icw910\"><span><\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Pauline Howie\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/_128101383_pau.png\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ssrcss-evoj7m-Image ee0ct7c0\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">People are being asked to consider whether speaking to their GP, NHS 24 or a community pharmacist might be a better option for their condition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Ms Howie said: \u201cWe have also developed an integrated clinical hub here within the Scottish Ambulance Service.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cSo if your condition isn\u2019t a time critical emergency, we might offer a consultation with one of our clinicians to try to find a pathway that\u2019s right for you at that time, which often is not going to the emergency department.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">She said a recruitment campaign had taken on more staff than ever before.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Ms Howie told BBC Scotland that SAS recruited 540 new ambulance workers last year and 488 this year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the service was working to improve turnaround times.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cWe\u2019ll do everything we can to give people the best possible service, but of course we know that there\u2019s far too many people waiting too long for treatment and care,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">Mr Yousaf told BBC Scotland that the service was seeing a spike in respiratory viruses, with flu cases in particular.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cGiven the pressures that\u2019s on the system, this is going to be the most challenging time,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"text-block\" class=\"ssrcss-11r1m41-RichTextComponentWrapper ep2nwvo0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-7uxr49-RichTextContainer e5tfeyi1\">\n<p class=\"ssrcss-1q0x1qg-Paragraph eq5iqo00\">\u201cThat\u2019s going to have an impact on the staff and equally no doubt it will have an impact on the care that we\u2019re able to provide for patients.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-component=\"links-block\" class=\"ssrcss-5i1hhv-LinksComponentWrapper e3eyuya0\">\n<section class=\"ssrcss-msolhr-LinksWrapper e3eyuya5\">\n<p><h2 class=\"ssrcss-q4zz1q-StyledHeading e1fj1fc10\">More on this story<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<ul role=\"list\" class=\"ssrcss-10bv2vf-EndOfContentLinksGrid e3eyuya2\">\n<li class=\"ssrcss-547yr3-PromoItem e3eyuya1\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-nxco0v-Promo ett16tt0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-a0724v-PromoSwitchLayoutAtBreakpoints e3z3r3u0\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-xekq2n-PromoContent e1f5wbog7\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-1f3bvyz-Stack e1y4nx260\"><span role=\"text\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"ssrcss-17zglt8-PromoHeadline e1f5wbog4\"><span aria-hidden=\"false\">No ambulance to meet helicopter patient at hospital<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ssrcss-z60stg-PromoImageContainer ehnfhlg4\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-17h6w1t-PromoImageContainerInner ehnfhlg2\">\n<div class=\"ssrcss-fec6qv-ImageWrapper ehnfhlg3\"><span class=\"ssrcss-11kpz0x-Placeholder e16icw910\"><span><\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Air ambulance\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/wn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/_128089437_airambulance-pa.jpg\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ssrcss-evoj7m-Image ee0ct7c0\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- A generated by theme --> <\/p>\n<p><style><![CDATA[\n\n\/* inline tdc_css att *\/\n\n\/* phone *\/\n@media (max-width: 767px)\n{\n.tdi_109{\nmargin-right:-20px !important;\nmargin-left:-20px !important;\npadding-right:20px !important;\npadding-left:20px !important;\n}\n}\n\n]]><\/style>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\/* custom css *\/\n.tdi_109.td-a-rec{\n\t\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_109 .td-element-style{\n\t\t\t\t\tz-index: -1;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\n\/* phone *\/\n@media (max-width: 767px){\n.tdi_109.td-a-rec-img img{\n\t\t\t\t    max-width: 300px;\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\n\t\t\t\t}\n}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><noscript id=\"td-ad-placeholder\"\/><\/p>\n<p> <!-- end A --> <\/p>\n<div class=\"vc_row_inner tdi_111  vc_row vc_inner wpb_row td-pb-row\">\n<style scoped=\"\"><![CDATA[\n\n\/* custom css *\/\n.tdi_111{\n                    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.td-post-sharing,\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_118 .tdb-share-classic{\n\t\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#13; &#13; &#13; People are being urged to reconsider whether they need an ambulance, before calling 999 over Christmas. This week has seen calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) up 25% on the same period in previous years. It is believed to be a result of recent bad weather, a rise in flue cases [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1269246,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1269245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1269245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1269245\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1269245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1269245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2022\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1269245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}