Paramedics have claimed their bosses were urged to resolve a cover shortfall months before an accident which claimed the life of a teenager.
They say Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) chiefs were warned about the potential consequences of staff and vehicle shortages.
Sixteen-year-old Keiran McKandie died after being involved in a collision with a car on the outskirts of Elgin in March last year – and the nearest ambulance took almost 30 minutes to reach him.
Despite the service then pledging to improve the area’s cover, paramedics claim the situation has worsened in the months since the accident.
And Keiran’s parents fear it is “inevitable” people will die while waiting for mercy vehicles to arrive unless urgent action is taken.
Gordon and Sandra McKandie believe “nothing has changed” about the ambulance system since the tragedy involving their son.
Mrs McKandie claimed she had been presented with little more than “political speak” in response to her calls for improvements.
She said: “We have just been going round in circles, we have received apologies but sorry doesn’t cut it.
“The system still isn’t fit for purpose and no real change has been achieved, even 10 months down the line.
“These concerns should have been addressed years ago, what happened to Keiran was foreseen, and we have received no assurances that this won’t happen again to somebody else.
“Until there is a massive overhaul of the service, it’s obvious that this will happen again to some other poor soul.”
She added: “It’s unbearable to think that Keiran has been taken away and nobody has learned any lessons from it.”
One paramedic said: “On the ground we are in a situation where things are certainly no better, and are probably worse.
“Year on year, we see an increase in workload with no increase in resources.”
Unite union regional officer, Tommy Campbell, said ambulance service chief executive, David Garbutt, was given warnings about the “dire” situation in the region.
He said: “We had already told him there was a crisis in the north-east.
“They had been warned that people would die lying in the streets unless these shortages were resolved.
“We have made it clear what those on the ground are faced with but, despite all that, the situation is getting worse.”
General manager of the SAS’s north division, Milne Weir, said huge efforts were being made to make the north-east a safer place.
Mr Weir said work was being performed alongside community care groups “to train more members of the public to intervene in the crucial early minutes following a cardiac arrest”.
He said: “We are continually exploring new ways of working to deliver the safest and most effective service in the Grampian area and across Scotland.
“”With our partners, we aim to provide CPR training to 500,000 people across Scotland by 2020.
“This network of co-responders will complement our highly skilled paramedics in the Grampian area, and further enable the service to deliver the highest possible level of care to patients.”