New stats show paramedics are dealing with an increasing number of mental health emergencies
Callouts for mental health issues have risen by nine per cent during the pandemic and now account for six per cent of all 999 calls to the ambulance service.
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New figures from the Scottish Ambulance Service show paramedics are dealing with an increasing number of mental health emergencies and suicides because of the pandemic.
In her evidence to the committee, Scottish Ambulance Service chief executive Pauline Howie said that the emergency service’s workload “dropped quite dramatically” during the first lockdown, with 999 calls for ambulances falling by approximately 30%.
Demand rose with the easing of restrictions during the summer, but has fallen again during the latest lockdown.
She said that the Scottish Ambulance Service has faced “challenges” to maintain response times for callouts “because of the enhanced infection prevention and control arrangements”.
The Scottish Ambulance Service’s workforce director Lyndsay Lauder added: “Our response times this year have increased across all the different categories, and that’s because of the additional time for doffing and donning of equipment, or cleaning of the vehicles and ambulances, in between patients is more intensive than it previously was.”