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Emergency life-line for rural communities
25/06/2007
A vital service which ensures people with rapid access to life-threatening medical emergencies and treatment is to be extended to remote areas of the west coast of Scotland, it was announced today.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing Nicola Sturgeon has approved the extended West Coast Emergency Medical Retrieval Service.
The Glasgow-based service will run as an 18-month pilot, covering 16 rural hospitals on the west coast of Scotland, from Wigtown to Stornoway.
Ms Sturgeon said:
"I am delighted to give the go-ahead to this invaluable service. Critical illness and injury can happen anywhere. It is therefore vital that people get rapid and expert treatment.
"Getting very ill patients to the intensive care they require is a major challenge. This service will provide safe and secure access to highly experienced Accident and Emergency department specialists for people in remote communities. It will also give support to our practictioners and Scottish Ambulance Service paramedics."
Welcoming the announcement, NHS Highland Chief Executive Roger Gibbins said:
"This service will provide safe and secure access to highly experienced Accident and Emergency department specialists for people in remote communities who are seriously ill or seriously injured. It will also provide support to doctors and other health workers in remote areas."
Background:
The service is primarily intended for the retrieval of patients from General Practitioner (GP) run community hospitals with no on-site emergency physician or anaesthetist.. 2. The West Coast Pilot serves a total of 158,011 of the population spread across five Health Boards, including NHS Higland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Western Isles, NHS Ayrshire and Arran and NHS Tayside.
Within these Health Board, areas covered are three Rural General Hospitals and 13 community hospitals, within Argyll and Bute, Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Wigtown, Western Isles, Arran, Cumbrae and Kinloch Rannoch. 4. The total cost of the service is £1.59 million over 18 months.