Dying grandmother joins calls for SNP Health Minister to quit after waiting three hours for pain relief

A dying grandmother has joined the chorus of calls for the SNP’s Health Minister to quit after waiting more than three hours for treatment thanks to a delayed ambulance.

Margaret Goodman, 58, who has terminal brain cancer, said she suffered hours of excruciating pain after an ambulance failed to arrive and her husband, Gavin, was forced to drive her to hospital.

The teacher described how she left in a packed "warzone" accident-and-emergency waiting room on a Saturday night earlier this month, before finally receiving a dose of morphine to relieve her pain at 3am.

However, she claimed she did not see a doctor until 7am at Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert, Stirlingshire. This was disputed by the health board, which said this was when she was discharged.

The distressing case was disclosed at First Minister’s Questions by Richard Leonard, the Scottish Labour leader, who said more than 16,000 ambulances took more than an hour to respond to a 999 call last year.

Mrs Goodman said she backed his demand that Ms Robison resign, saying she was ultimately responsible for the NHS’s travails. Two other MSPs also told the Holyrood chamber she should go as a string of other health service failures emerged.

A report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) found Scotland needs up to 110 more specialist paediatric consultants to meet standards, with doctors risking "burnout" on children's wards.

Willie Rennie, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader, raised the case of a woman from Caithness who was sent on a 520-mile round trip to Livingston to give birth as there were no free cots at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

And Neil Findlay, a Labour Lothians MSP, highlighted a medical practice in the region where all the GPs had resigned and there are no applicants to take over from them.

The First Minister has stood by her embattled minister despite mounting pressure over a financial scandal at NHS Tayside, missed waiting times targets and staff shortages.

But asked if Ms Robison should resign, Mrs Goodman referred to Mr Leonard’s ambulance response time figures. The mother-of-three said: "I think she should.

"This is not just about ‘we’ll look at it and put something in place’. This is 16,000 people. I was shocked.” She added: “Who else is responsible? Who’s put this in place?"

Mrs Goodman, who was diagnosed with an aggresive brain tumour in December, described how she experienced excruciating pain on April 7 and the lengthy wait she endured for help.

Responding to Mr Leonard in the Holyrood chamber, Ms Sturgeon said the circumstances were “unacceptable” and pledged to look personally into the case.

Informed that Mrs Goodman was in the public gallery for First Minister’s Questions, she apologised and offered a meeting with Ms Robison.

The Scottish Ambulance Service said its first recorded logged call was a 1.26am, which was “not immediately life threatening” and it was advised at 2.11am an ambulance was no longer required.

A spokesman said: “However, Mrs Goodman waited longer than we would have liked and we would like to apologise. We are happy to meet with her to discuss this further and we are investigating the circumstances.”

NHS Forth Valley said she was triaged “within minutes” of arriving at hospital at 2.44am and she was moved shortly afterwards to a side room. A spokesman said her symptoms were “re-assessed” at 5.30am and she was discharged at 7am.

He added: “We are sorry to hear that this family were unhappy with the care given at Forth Valley Royal Hospital and would be happy to meet with them to discuss any aspects of the treatment provided.”