Motorbike ambulance set to rev up service

Published on Saturday 17 June 2006 12:16

EDINBURGH'S first motorbike ambulance is to take to the streets of the Capital in a bid to beat traffic jams.

The bike is the only one operating in a Scottish city and will be particularly useful during the Edinburgh Festival, when city streets become gridlocked with visitors.

Lothian crews last year answered 77,278 emergency calls with an average response time to life-threatening calls of 7.9 minutes. But during rush hour, when ambulances are battling through traffic, the response can be much slower.

John Alexander, Scottish Ambulance Service area service manager for Edinburgh, said: "Its main purpose is not speed but manoeuvrability through congestion.

"The reason for introducing it just now is the volume of traffic on the road. The city almost comes to a gridlock during various parts of the day.

"Also, the population of Edinburgh almost doubles in the Festival and this is when it's going to come into its own."

Rapid response bikes were first tested in the Capital five years ago. At that time, traffic congestion was not such a problem.

But a further trial last year proved traffic had become much worse and ambulance chiefs realised that a bike would help to speed up emergency response times.

The Honda Pan European bike, which was introduced this week, will only be used in the city centre during peak times when hotspots include Leith Walk, Lothian Road and the Bridges.

Two paramedics have been trained to drive the ex-police vehicle and they will carry a range of life-saving equipment including oxygen and defibrillators.

Once they get to the scene, their job will be to stabilise the patient until an ambulance arrives.

Negotiations are also on-going with Lothian and Border's Police to train more paramedics to drive the bike.

Inspector Colin Shillito, who has responsibility for the police's motorbike section, said the paramedics will be taught advanced riding techniques and emergency responses.

He said: "We have offered to train paramedics in advanced motorbike techniques.

"They are going to undergo a training course where we will teach them the skills they need to ride at high speed.

"In the inner city, motorbikes are renowned for their flexibility and are especially useful at busier times of the year like Christmas and summer.

"We use motorbikes as the first line of response in certain situations and I think that the ambulance service using motorbikes will cut down on response times, especially at rush hour."

Unison regional officer David Forbes said the role of the ambulance service had changed significantly in recent years.

In the past, crews were responsible for getting people to hospital as quickly as possible, but now paramedics are expected to provide swift lifesaving care at the scene of the accident.

"Now crews are taking top-class emergency care to the scene of the accident which is crucial and has a far bigger bearing on survival rates," said Mr Forbes.

"My only concern about the bike is how much they are going to be able to do because of the amount of equipment they are able to carry.

"This also has to be considered in terms of the lone workers policy. You imagine that people will welcome ambulance personnel with open arms but there are an increasing number of attacks on ambulance staff.

"This is likely to be less problematic though if the bike is only being used at peak times rather than at 3am."