Rise in equipment malfunctions in Scottish ambulances raises alarm over patient safety

Daily disruptions plague Scotland's ambulance services, with statistics revealing that five key pieces of equipment are failing every day on average, a situation that could lead to patient harm or even fatality.

The severity of the issue was highlighted by figures obtained for last year, showing there were 1,826 equipment failures within the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Alarmingly, this marks a significant increase from 2018's total which saw only 553 failures recorded.

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These critical incidents are tracked by Datix, an online tool utilised within the healthcare sector for incident reporting and risk management.

Datix serves a pivotal role in identifying potential risks that could escalate to harm or fatality, thereby ensuring measures are taken to enhance patient safety, reports the Daily Record.

Ambulances house an array of essential life-saving tools, such as defibrillators, pain-relieving analgesics like Entonox (a combination of air and gas), and suction units essential for choking emergencies; any malfunction in these equipments poses a grave threat.

Information unearthed by the Scottish Labour Party through a Freedom of Information request has illustrated a worrisome trend of increasing incidents over the past five years.

Year-on-year figures show a rise from 690 occurrences in 2019 to 747 in 2020, then nearly doubling to 1,463 in 2021, before climbing again to 1,681 in 2022.

An insider with knowledge of ambulance operations pinpointed defibrillators as a major concern, acknowledging that since new models were introduced, issues have been surfacing.

He claimed: "We took over new defibrillators at that time and staff are starting to notice bits aren't working."

The source also stressed that operational pressures have eroded the crucial window paramedics previously had for equipment checks at the beginning of their shifts.

He lamented: "We are supposed to get time to check over equipment at the start of a shift but we don't get nearly enough time now."

Consequently, it's out in the field where equipment failures become apparentaffecting patients directly and necessitating a report in the Datix system.

He highlighted the grave consequences if a defibrillator fails, saying, "If it is just being used to monitor a patient we would call for another ambulance to bring one out but if someone has a cardiac arrest we would be calling for emergency back up asap and it is a case of hands on the chest until they arrive."

Ambulance unions have expressed dismay at the new figures, labelling them "shocking".

Pat McIlvogue from Unite conveyed his concerns: "The fact that there has been a 230 per cent reporting increase over five years in faulty and substandard medical equipment onboard ambulances is shocking and deeply alarming."

He added, "Unite's paramedics in the Scottish Ambulance Service are frequently flagging issues like defibrillators breaking down and the subsequent need to call for emergency back-up in critical situations."

Moreover, he stressed, "It's important to highlight that due to understaffing, fatigue and the intense time pressures on ambulance crews, there is minimal or no opportunity to check over equipment prior to attending an emergency call."

McIlvogue also disclosed a worrying development: "The provision of equipment on ambulances is on the verge of further deteriorating because there is a proposal to massively reduce the supply and use of endotracheal tubes."

He emphasized the value of these tubes, "This piece of kit is considered gold-standard by our members, and it helps provide oxygen to the airway in an emergency."

"Unite is robustly raising these concerns with the Scottish Ambulance Service and it is an issue which we are directly taking up with government ministers because our paramedics need every piece of equipment, and it must be of the highest quality in order to save lives."

Karen Leonard, GMB Scotland organiser in NHS Scotland, stated: "The most important resource of the Scottish Ambulance Service is the skill, experience and commitment of our members."

"Their ability to care for patients will rest on their equipment, however, and they rely on that kit in life and death situations every single day."

"Our members check the equipment in their ambulance at the start of their shift before but the half-hour necessary for those checks is rarely available because of the pressure on crews to attend calls."

"We have for some time been urging management to ensure crews are given the necessary time to fully check their equipment before leaving the station."

"The worrying figures revealed by the Record suggest that is now an absolute priority."

Last night Labour's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said the Scottish Government must address the spiralling numbers of incidents involving ambulance equipment failures "before lives are lost".

She added: "Ambulances race through streets to rescue us at our time of greatest need."

"It's tragic to think this incredible effort could be put in doubt by something as simple as an equipment failure, but these figures show that such incidents are becoming all too frequent."

"The SNP Government must deal with this ambulance equipment meltdown it's a matter of life or death."

Yet in response, a spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service challenged the claims: "The statistics were 'misleading'."

They elaborated, "There has been no reduction in any vehicle or vehicle-based equipment maintenance arrangements."

"Frequency, scope, training and funding have all remained consistent or have been enhanced through learning opportunities."

"We continually encourage staff to report events and issues, irrelevant of how small, and this has resulted in an increase in issues being reported."

Further detailing steps towards improvement, they stated: "The Scottish Ambulance Service is led by best practice and evidence-based care and in line with other UK ambulance services, we are transitioning from endotracheal intubation (ETI) to I-gels for routine ambulance airway care."

"The Service will continue to have advanced practitioners and pre-hospital critical care teams able to undertake ETI where clinically indicated."