BP may be asked to fund second ambulance for isles

The solution to providing another ambulance for the isles may come from BP, it emerged at a meeting of Delting Community Council.

Community council chairman Alastair Cooper said he would be seeking a meeting with Sullom Voe Terminal manager Lindsay Boswell to see if BP would consider helping fund an additional ambulance. This would probably be based in Brae but with the potential to respond to other areas.

The move follows an announcement from Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) last week that it had abandoned plans to base a retained ambulance in Brae, following the failure to attract eight recruits.

The SAS now intends to advertise for a retained crew in Lerwick, where it would base any second ambulance.

However Delting Community Council thought that not all options to base an ambulance in the North Mainland had been investigated. Mr Cooper said SAS could possibly “get together” with BP to station a fully-equipped, fully-staffed ambulance in the North Mainland.

Mr Cooper said last week that he was not surprised the effort to recruit eight retained staff had fallen through, as the fire service stuggled to find retained staff.

Shetland MSP Tavish Scott also called for an additional fully-staffed, fully-equipped ambulance last week.