Flying doctors spread their wings

THE Flying doctor service is to be extended to cover all remote areas of the country, it was announced yesterday.

The service was initially based in the Western Isles and west coast areas on launch in 2008.

But the Scottish Government yesterday confirmed that the Emergency Medical Retrieval Service had been rolled out to cover all remote and rural parts of the country. It will now be increased to two Glasgow-based teams, with the number of doctors rising from eight to 15.

The service will cost 2 million a year to run and be staffed by air paramedics and specialist emergency consultants.