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Increased Ambulance Cover For Caithness

11th April 2018

The Scottish Ambulance Service has announced nine new ambulance staff are now in place in Wick and Thurso as part of an investment package which will increase capacity across Caithness.

The joint investment with NHS Highland totalling almost £500k will improve services for patients and ensure they continue to receive the highest possible standards of care.

It will enhance resilience in the area whilst undertaking Inter-hospital transfers and remove on-call working arrangements.

The Scottish Ambulance Service have been working closely with local staff and partners across the region.

Steven Gorman, Area Service Manager for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "This additional investment will further enhance resilience in Wick and Thurso and complements wider investment across the North of Scotland in response to changing patient needs and access to more specialist health service delivery.

“This important investment will remove on-call working arrangements for our staff and further enhance our capacity in these areas. The recruitment process is now complete, with four staff members in post and five now starting their training.

Michelle Johnstone, NHS Highland's North Area manager, said: “This is great news for Caithness. I welcome that the Scottish Ambulance Service staff are now in place. The new staff and the additional investment of almost £ 500k can only be good news for the provision of care for local residents.

“This investment boost will go a long way to help improve the resilience of the health and social care service we provide. Having additional Scottish Ambulance Service staff based in Wick or Thurso will give us an increased responsiveness that will support clinical decision-making within our hospitals."