RUNNING ON EMPTY
Daily Record|January 04, 2025
Seven staff each day forced to do solo shifts
CRAIG MEIGHAN
RUNNING ON EMPTY

THE Scottish Government has been warned ambulances are "running on empty" after figures showed there were 2503 single-crew shifts in 2024.

A freedom of information request by Scottish Labour found, on average, nearly seven staff a day had to crew a shift themselves.

The party said the practice has continued even though the SNP vowed to crack down on it.

In 2008, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon - who was health secretary at the time - asked the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to ban emergency responders from attending incidents on their own.

The Scottish Government said single-crewed ambulance shifts account for only a small percentage of shifts.

This story is from the January 04, 2025 edition of Daily Record.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the January 04, 2025 edition of Daily Record.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.