Ambulance driver's mum wants son reinstated to Broch posting
THE mother of an ambulanceman who was demoted over reporting a colleague's actions to the media last September has spoken out.
Elizabeth MacLeman of Fraserburgh says she's angry with Scottish Ambulance Service Chiefs for transferring her son, Alex, to a station in Banff to work as a relief crewmember.
Mrs McLeman insists he should be reinstated to his old posting in Fraserburgh.
She told the Herald he is being transferred today (Thursday) after 30 years based in the Broch.
The driver's comments sparked national outrage last year when he told the media that his colleague refused to respond to a call for a woman across the Road from the Fraserburgh Ambulance depot who had a heart attack, because he was on his tea break.
A source close to the Ambulance Service contacted the Herald last week about Mr McLeman's transfer.
Meanwhile, Mrs MacLeman told the Herald: "I think the ambulance service should be ashamed of themselves if that's how they treat their staff after 30 years service. I'm nearly 80 years old and this is beginning to affect my health because I worry about him, constantly. I know everybody takes their family's side of the story, but this is just ridiculous, I can't even sleep with what is going on."
Mrs McLeman's comments come as news broke of an emergency patient who died after a paramedic allegedly diverted an ambulance because his shift had ended. An investigation is under way after the incident in Stockton, Teesside, last month, in which a 69-year-old man died. Instead of taking the stroke victim to Stockton's North Tees Hospital, a paramedic drove to the town's ambulance station.
A North East Ambulance Service Trust (NEAS) spokesman said a paramedic and a technician had been suspended. The 3.3 mile (5.3 km) journey from the patient's house to the hospital should have taken less than 10 minutes.
But the delay meant he was not admitted to hospital until 30 minutes after the 999 call was made.
Meanwhile, Mrs McLeman said her son had been treated unfairly and the ambulanceman who refused to interrupt his tea break to go across the road, should have been suspended instead of her son being punished.
The Scottish Ambulance Service backed the paramedic when the story first broke.
She said her son, Alex did not tell her that he was suspended for five weeks, hiding the fact by telling her he had an injured shoulder and taking time off.
Mrs McLeman said her son has been a godsend to older people in the area.
He would give them lifts anywhere they wanted in his own vehicle after work, she said.
"He's so kindly with all his patients, especially the elderly because if there were any old folk who wanted to do anything but couldn't manage, he would always help them. Now my son has been forced to cancel some small luxuries that he has worked for all of his life because of the expense of travelling to Banff from Fraserburgh every morning," Mrs McLeman added. "I think things should be rectified and he should be reinstated to Fraserburgh."
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said:
"We do not comment on internal matter relating to individual members of staff."
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Weather for Fraserburgh
Monday 06 February 2012
Today
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Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
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