MP David Duguid receives confirmation that Turriff will receive their own ambulance in 2023
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Turriff is expected to receive its own ambulance in March in a bid to address the town’s soaring response times.
Confirmation of the move to provide residents with emergency cover was given to Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid during a meeting with the Scottish Ambulance Service.
It is the first time the service has given timescales on the initiative which will see an ambulance on standby in the town, coinciding with another stationed in Banff.
During the meeting with deputy regional director Euan Esslemont, the service said the two planned vehicles will require 17 staff including those who work relief duty, with just one more role to fill to allow the move to take place.
Mr Duguid has been campaigning for improvements to local health services since becoming an MP in 2017 and held a public meeting in August which was attended by more than 150 people covering issues such as ambulance cover.
It comes as new figures show a critically ill patient in the NHS Grampian area was forced to wait almost two hours for an ambulance, with Turriff historically being one of the worst areas in the north-east for response times.
Patients in the town regularly have to wait more than three times the national target of eight minutes from a 999 call.
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid said: “Residents in Turriff have seen a steady erosion of healthcare services over the years so these assurances from the Scottish Ambulance Service are very much welcome.
“Several people have expressed to me that they now have a sense of fear living in the town when an emergency occurs due to the lack of local ambulance provision available to them.
“This situation has been exacerbated by the ongoing crisis within our NHS with ambulances seen queuing for hours outside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
“This is why it is equally important to reopen, as fully as possible, minor injury units in Banff as well as Turriff to help relieve some of these pressures.
“Every minute spent waiting to transfer a patient is another minute ambulance staff cannot respond to other seriously ill patients.
“For seriously ill patients suffering strokes or heart attacks, even minutes could be the difference between life and death which is why having an ambulance in Turriff is so vital to the community.
“In my ongoing discussions with local health care providers, there has been absolutely no question of the individual commitment and hard work of health practitioners and their teams.”
In the meantime minor injuries such as cuts, bites, minor burns and suspected broken bones as well as out of hours illness which cannot wait until the doctors reopen can be dealt with through NHS 24 by calling 111.
This allows a clinician to assess the problem and set up an appointment for your visit to reduce waiting times for you and avoid large amounts of people gathering in waiting rooms, with appointments once again available in Turriff.
For emergencies you should, of course, call 999.
In addition, Turriff Medical Practice revealed in their monthly newsletter this week that they are currently reviewing their situation to form a plan to reopen the Cuminestown surgery to patients.
They will also be joined by two specialist trainees next year as part of their commitment to encouraging trainee doctors to join the general practice workforce.
The Health Centre will be closed from December 24-27 and December 31-January 3, reopening at 8am on December 28 and January 4 respectively.
