Number of far north patients transferred by ambulance to Raigmore is 'quite alarming'
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THE number of patients from Caithness and Sutherland being transferred by ambulance to Raigmore hospital in Inverness has been described as "quite alarming" by a health campaigner.
Ron Gunn, the chairman of the Caithness Health Action Team, made the comment after a Freedom of Information (FoI) request revealed the statistics for the years from 2019 to 2023. They show that there were 483 transfers from Caithness in 2019; 399 in 2020; 468 in 2021; 433 in 2022 and 436 in 2023. In Sutherland, the figures were: 954 in 2019; 709 in 2020; 892 in 2021; 805 in 2022 and 794 in 2023.
Thurso and Northwest Caithness Highland councillor, Matthew Reiss, said the statistics were "extraordinary" and called on the Scottish Government "to do something positive to help" while a patient said the situation "could end up in a tragedy."
Mr Gunn stressed the figures refer to "actual patients who are quite ill and have to travel in the back of an ambulance for a few hours to get to Raigmore."
He pointed out there are around three ambulances covering Caithness during the day and two at night and said: "There will be a knock-on effect for Caithness ambulance crews who are out of the county for so long. A transfer could take on average around five hours."
He said the figures reveal there is more than one ambulance transfer a day from Caithness and an even higher number for Sutherland.
Mr Gunn described the figures for Caithness as "quite alarming" and wondered how many transfers there were "before NHS Highland decided to centralise so many services in Raigmore."
He accepted there will be times when patients need to go to Raigmore or even Aberdeen for treatment but queried if the same number of transfers would be required "if Caithness had better services."
Mr Gunn calculated that, according to the figures in the FoI, Caithness ambulances transfer patients to Raigmore on average about 450 times a year. With the trips taking around five hours that would be 2250 hours a year or 93.75 days a year. For Sutherland it would be more than 173 days a year.
Not only is that taking ambulance crews out of the county but it could impact on other staff as well as there will be times when a nurse or midwife may be required to accompany a patient to Inverness and that could also have a knock-on effect here, said Mr Gunn.
When an ambulance and crew is out of the county there could be "an affect on response times" for other patients. "It is not unusual for a Caithness crew to spend their entire shift away from Caithness," he said.
Mr Gunn claimed the system needs to be looked at and pointed out that CHAT has asked the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) if there could be an alternative way to transfer patients to hospital in Raigmore without using front line ambulances.
"We asked if they would consider extending the Patient Transfer Service – run by SAS – and have emergency ambulances as part of that scheme to take patients to hospital in Inverness. That would free up the local ambulances. We were told they would look at it but are still waiting for an answer," he said. Mr Gunn said some patients also may need to be transferred back to Caithness in an ambulance.
He was "quite shocked" by the Sutherland figures and said the high number of transfers to Raigmore would be "quite a drain on the service there."
Councillor Matthew Reiss, a representative for the Thurso and Northwest Caithness ward, described the figures as "extraordinary" and show that ambulances are taking patients from the far north to Inverness "every single day."
"The weather in the last few weeks shows there is a lot of risk with this. That is indisputable," he said.
Councillor Reiss said NHS Highland often gets the blame for what's happening but said it is not getting enough money and is doing the best it can. He said local MSP, Mare Todd, should "take up the cudgels" and urge the health secretary "to do something positive to help."
"A lot of people are resigned to this situation and feel nothing is going to change but we have to keep fighting for change and I feel that sooner or later there will be change, political change," added councillor Reiss.
A Caithness patient, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "As someone who regularly travels to Inverness for treatment in all weathers, I don't find these figures surprising. Ever since the downgrading of maternity services in Wick more and more services and emergencies have been centralised to Inverness and even Aberdeen."
That can leave the far north with reduced ambulance cover, said the person who added:"If an individual suddenly goes into labour, has a heart attack or is involved in a road traffic accident and there's no ambulance available, it could end up in a tragedy."
NHS Highland and the Scottish Ambulance Service was asked for a comment.
