Overview
The complainant (Mrs C) is an Independent Advice Support Services Case Worker with the Citizen's Advice Bureau. She raised a number of concerns about the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) on behalf of a client (Mrs A). Mrs A said that when she was out walking with her young great grandson in November 2009, she fell and broke her leg. She said a passer-by called for an ambulance (she said three calls were made) but that it took over an hour to arrive. Meanwhile, she was left in the cold. When the ambulance arrived, she was given pain relief and thus was not fully aware. Mrs A was aggrieved because her great grandson was left in the care of a person she did not know. She also complained that an inflatable splint used on her injured leg was faulty. Thereafter, Mrs C complained that the SAS failed to respond properly to the complaint she made on behalf of Mrs A.
Specific complaints and conclusions
The complaints which have been investigated are that:
- (a) there was delay in responding to the 999 call (not upheld);
- (b) the inflatable splint was faulty (upheld);
- (c) the crew inappropriately handed Mrs A's three-year-old great grandson to an unknown person while she was incapacitated (upheld); and
- (d) there was a failure to handle Mrs C's complaints appropriately, in that there was delay and failure to respond to all of the complaints (upheld).
Redress and recommendations
The Ombudsman recommends that the SAS:
- (i) make an addition to their Child Protection Code of Practice, to take into account circumstances where children are left in their care by virtue of the fact that the responsible adult has been taken ill or involved in an accident. In this regard, they may wish to refer to the Scottish Government's Guidance on Looked after Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009;
- (ii) apologise to Mrs A for any distress caused as a result of allowing her great grandson to be left in the care of a stranger;
- (iii) provide to him a copy of the internal auditors' report on the introduction of the pilot complaints procedure and that he is kept advised of any recommendations made;
- (iv) keep him advised of the progress of the introduction of the new complaints procedure and that he receives a copy of the new complaints handling procedure; and
- (v) apologise to Mrs C (and Mrs A) for the way in which the formal complaint was handled.
The SAS have accepted the recommendations and will act on them accordingly.