AN ELDERLY Greenock man collapsed and died in his garden after neighbours who went to his aid were told NO AMBULANCES were available anywhere in Inverclyde, an MSP has said.

People who had been instructed by a 999 operator to perform CPR on the stricken man said they were informed that the nearest paramedic unit was up to half-an-hour away at Linwood.

The Greenock Telegraph has been told that the casualty was only around a four-minute drive away from Inverclyde Royal Hospital at the time of the emergency.

Greenock-born MSP Jamie Greene - whose relatives were with the man when he passed away - said that it was 'evidently a very grave situation'.

Mr Greene said: "It was a horrid situation and very upsetting."

Glasgow Times:

The Scottish Conservatives parliamentary frontbencher added: "After ten minutes, the 999 operator said that unfortunately there were no ambulances available anywhere in Inverclyde and one would be dispatched from Linwood - a good 20–30-minute drive away.

"This was a disturbing revelation, as every minute counts when someone is in dire need of emergency treatment.

"Despite Inverclyde Royal being less than a four-minute drive away, there were no resources available. 

"When paramedics finally arrived, with no ambulance, sadly the gentleman had passed."

The Scottish Ambulance Service - which has been contacted for comment on the incident - is now under pressure to explain why Inverclyde was left with no paramedic cover.

Mr Greene said his close relative had continued performing CPR on the man for around 30 minutes. 

He said: "My thoughts are with his family and loved ones. I promised I would highlight the plight of our hard-working NHS staff who are clearly too often stretched to the maximum."

Mr Greene has now vowed to take on health chiefs and the Scottish Government regarding the pressures on hard-pressed ambulance crews.

He said: "None of this is their fault. My plea from this sad incident is that the Scottish Government take note of these real-life experiences and focus on resourcing our health service.

"No-one should have to wait that long for an ambulance today in Inverclyde, or anywhere in Scotland. "

The tragedy comes two years after the Scottish Ambulance Service declared it had acted to reduce response times by allocating more staff to Inverclyde.

There have been reports on the lack of ambulances and response times locally for the last five years.

In 2021, response times were continuing to soar, with turnaround times of up to seven hours.

The Scottish Ambulance Service pledged at that time that there would be additional staff to cover Inverclyde put in place.

MSP Mr Greene said: "I have dealt with casework in the past about lengthy response times to 999 calls and spoken directly to NHS staff about the stresses they face on a daily basis, but it never really hits home how perilous things are until it arrives on your doorstep."

A Scottish Ambulance spokesperson said: "We would like to extend our sincere apologies and condolences to the patient’s family at this extremely distressing time.

"We would ask that the family contact us directly so a review can be carried out and findings reported directly back to them.

"We are very sorry for their loss.”