Petition raised
A petition calling for a second ambulance for Shetland has been placed in shops throughout the Mainland.
Malcolm Thomson from Ollaberry said he had been shocked to read in this paper of two recent cases when Shetland’s only ambulance equipped to A&E standards had been unable to respond to an emergency, most recently the case of the teenage crash victim who overturned his car and had to wait for two hours for the ambulance.
Mr Thomson decided to act by organising a petition, which is in virtually all of the country shops as well as many in Lerwick, including D & G Leslie’s, Rod & Line Fishing Tackle and Tesco. More shops are being added to the list all the time.
Mr Thomson said he has had an excellent response, with hundreds of signatures and some shops already needing more sponsor sheets.
He has been delighted with the strength of feeling about this “emotional subject”, he said, and is now calling for volunteers to help him get more signatures in public places such as the Market Cross and the Toll Clock Shopping Centre.
Mr Thomson said: “They [the Scottish Ambulance Service] are playing with people’s lives. Disabled or elderly people must be very frightened they might not be able to get ambulance help when it is required.
“This is not an attack on the ambulancemen, they do a sterling job. It is an attack on the service.”
? Anyone wanting to help by collecting signatures should contact Mr Thomson on 07766 088 202.
