New 24/7 ambulance to be stationed at Turner Memorial Hospital in Keith from April 2022
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A NEW ambulance is set to be stationed in Keith, the Scottish Ambulance Service has confirmed.
The ambulance will be stationed at the Turner Memorial Hospital and will create nine new jobs in Moray. It it set to be in operation by April 2022.
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "As part of additional funding to improve demand and capacity in the region, we are set to introduce a 24/7 ambulance service for Keith, made possible with nine new posts being introduced.
"Recruitment has begun, with our aim to have the ambulance in place by April 2022."
The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed the arrival of the ambulance in a letter sent to Moray's SNP MSP Richard Lochhead, who welcomed the plans as part of the Scottish Government’s investment in ambulance services across the country.
Mr Lochhead said: "Local ambulance crews have been under significant pressures with increasing demand for services and more hospital transfers being carried out between Dr Gray’s and Aberdeen.
"Of course, there are now new challenges that have been brought about by Covid-19 and in particular with staff absence due to self-isolation and hospital turnaround times in recent weeks and months.
“Over the last few years, I’ve worked closely with local ambulance staff to press for increased resources in Moray and there has been some progress with new posts created, the end of on-call working at Dufftown, and now we have this welcome investment in resources at Keith.
“While Covid-19 will continue to cause challenges for local ambulance staff, I do hope that this investment will support existing crews in their efforts to care for our local population and will make the service in Moray more resilient.”
