Child left with stranger as ambulance took gran

A THREE-year-old child was left with a stranger after ambulance crew took his great grandmother to hospital, a report reveals.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) upheld a complaint made by the woman that the boy should not have been left with someone she did not know after she slipped and broke her leg in Hawick.

The ombudsman also agreed a splint used to support her leg was faulty, after it kept deflating on the journey to hospital.

But it did not uphold a complaint that she had to wait over an hour for an ambulance after records showed that the actual time taken was 29 minutes. The patient complained that when she had passed out and came around in the ambulance she became aware that the youngster was not with her.

The report said the crew believed the passer-by knew the patient and that the patient had agreed to let the child go. She took the child to his father as she knew the family, not the patient.

The report said: "The witness was a good Samaritan, and the crew did not seem to question this. However, circumstances could have been very different."

The Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We are complying with the recommendations and have written to the patient."