OVERTIME payments to paramedics have reached a record £6.3 million amid shortages of ambulance workers to cover shifts.
On average, the Scottish Ambulance Service paid £32,000 a day in overtime to all staff - including managers, support staff and technicians - to work extra hours in 2017.
For paramedics alone, overtime was worth £6.3m - the highest in five years, and up £670,000 in the space of a year. Overtime payments made to ambulance drivers have also doubled since 2013, reaching £38,000 last year.
The figures were obtained by the Scottish Conservatives through Freedom of Information.
The rise comes as the Scottish Ambulance Service finds itself under more pressure dealing with an increasing and ageing population.
Staff sickness absence levels remain considerably higher than the national average, while paramedics face constant anti-social behaviour while attending 999 calls.
In the summer, more than 2500 addresses across the country were “red-flagged” – a policy where ambulance staff aren’t allowed to attend without a police presence.
The Scottish Ambulance Service said it was in the process of training an additional 1000 paramedics over the next five years “to ensure we can continue to provide safe, effective care”.
Scottish Conservative public health spokeswoman Annie Wells said: “Ambulance staff are under huge pressure, and that is increasing according to these figures. The fact more than £6 million was spent on overtime just for paramedics last year goes to show just how short-staffed the organisation must be.
“Many staff will be willing to do these additional shifts, but from a health and safety perspective, it’s not ideal to be relying on this so heavily."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Our ambulance service continues to be one of the best performing services in the UK despite continuous increased demand and servicing some of the most remote parts of the country. Funding for the Scottish Ambulance Service has increased to a record high, with more than £235 million being invested this year, which has allowed staffing in the ambulance service to increase by almost 25%. In the last two years the Ambulance Service has trained 690 new paramedics in line with our commitment to deliver an additional 1,000 paramedics by 2021.”
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