RANK ROTTEN

Cabbies hit out as they're asked to fill gaps in the failing health service

- VIVIENNE AITKEN

THOUSANDS of patients who dial 999 for an ambulance are being sent to hospital by taxi - with cab costs soaring from just £88 to £166,000 a year.

Ambulance chiefs began to send patients to hospital by taxi after the Covid pandemic as waiting times rocketed due to long waits at A&E departments.

Now the shocking rise in the use of the use of taxis by the Scottish Ambulance Service can be revealed in figures given to the Daily Record.

A total of 6961 patients have been taken to A&E departments by cabbies in the last three years, sparking demands for more investment so that professional 999 crews are used.

Pat McIlvogue, of the United Trade union, said: "This is an astonishing rise in costs associated with the transportation of patients to hospitals by taxis since the pandemic ended.

"To go from £88 to £165,999 in the space of five years is a damning reflection on the service management who are cutting corners in an attempt to cut costs. This is a symptom of chronic underinvestment in the Scottish Ambulance Service by the Scottish Government."