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OOH Kinloch Rannoch: One Councillor's Response

Asked, along with the other local elected representatives, C’llr Lyall has written to the CC secretary:

“I have raised health issues for 10 years now in my capacity as (a) Councillor and with 14 years experience of working in the Ambulance Service (and) will continue to try to represent the majority of the communities in Highland Perthshire.’

“…. I will not get into the assumption that the CC represents the majority of people in Kinloch Rannoch and Tummel Bridge area, as the majority of the community did not attend many of the meetings, indeed many were very poorly attended.

“… There is no doubt that I feel that the ambulance cover should be better with the second ambulance in Pitlochry being reinstated and I will continue to argue and lobby for that. I have also been active regarding NHS 24 which I believe had serious teething problems, is better now, but still not the solution to the problem.

“In respect to First Response, and I have to disagree with you here, this voluntary service is exceptionally well respected through out areas in which it works, the volunteers are trained to a 999 standard and have saved lives, something which you seem to have neglected in you arguments. The facts at present are this: If there is an emergency, i.e. heart attack during the out of hours period, it will take at least 30 minutes for an ambulance to get there. In a cardiac arrest that means that someone dies. The first response volunteer would maybe ensure that attendance were maybe 10 minutes, emergency first aid provided and a live saved. That is what first response can provide. Your all or nothing attitude is illogical and in real terms could condemn a member of the public to death. I do not support your resistance to this scheme.

" I am disgusted by the person who condemned me at one of the public meetings for supporting this scheme; she should be ashamed of her selfish view, in my opinion. Another fact is that even with an OOH GP service being at Rannoch, they have absolutely no commitment to respond to any 999’s, as in other areas, and in actual fact do rarely attend them. Whether an out of hours GP service is resumed or not I would support the first response scheme. The reality is that at present you have nothing, and you appear to forget that fact.