Scottish Labour has warned that the deal struck between the SNP government and Scottish Ambulance Service on staff rest breaks may have come at a cost to patient safety.   
 
The Party today published correspondence from three paramedics who wish to remain anonymous who have written to Labour’s health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, expressing concern about the deal. 
 
One paramedic warned that “on a daily basis lives are being needlessly put at risk”.
 
Another paramedic said that the dispute has led to “staff are being accosted by members of the public, being verbally abused”.
 
One added: “staff morale is rock bottom”.
 
It has been suggested that changes have been made to the way calls are categorised. It is understood that the speed at which a call is answered is in part now determined by the number you first call. For example, under the new system if you call your GP or NHS 24 first as opposed to dialling 999 direct, even if you have emergency symptoms, the call priority will be re-categorised meaning the target response time increases from 8 minutes to 18 minutes. Under questioning following the statement the Health Secretary did not rule this out and it appears this practice is continuing.
 
Scottish Labour is calling for an independent review into the categorisation of emergency ambulance calls. 
 
Scottish Labour’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health, Jackie Baillie MSP, said:
 
“I welcome that a deal has been struck because ambulance workers deserve a fair deal for the hours they work, but I am gravely concerned that this deal has come at a cost – patient safety. 
 
“Numerous paramedics have written to me anonymously expressing their concerns about the impact the call categorisation system is having on public safety.
 
“Patient safety has to be absolutely paramount. It should not matter what telephone number you phone be it NHS 24, your GP or 999 – if you need emergency help, you should get it.
 
“The importance of a call should be on the basis of the severity of the symptoms, not the number you call.
 
“We need an urgent independent review of the way emergency ambulance calls are categorised to ensure public safety is always put first.”