First Minister John Swinney has publicly apologised to a Skye teacher who feared she would die unable to access emergency help during a healthcare crisis.
Eilidh Beaton, 27, used five Epi-pens to stay alive after she went into anaphylactic shock and drifted in and out of consciousness on Saturday night after attending a music festival at Portree.
In a separate incident at the festival, a woman named Heather Aird died as the emergency care system on the island collapsed.
Eilidh was unable to go to Portree Community Hospital at night because it has been closed out of hours during long-running staffing problems.
The Skye teacher had told The Press and Journal: “At one point I thought if I don’t get oxygen I will not be here tomorrow.
“I knew that I needed medical help as soon as possible.”
Mr Swinney was quizzed by Tory leader Douglas Ross on the scandal at First Minister’s Questions.
The SNP leader responded: “This should never have happened.
“I want to express my condolences to the family of the individual who lost their life, and I want to say to Eilidh I am sorry for the terrifying experience she had on Saturday night.”
Lack of out-of-hours emergency care on Skye a ‘deep concern’
Mr Swinney said it was a “matter of deep concern” that the Skye hospital is not operating overnight for emergencies.
This was recommended in a major independent report six years ago.
While emergency care has been available sporadically since then, Mr Swinney said: “I accept that is not good enough.”
Skye residents, including Eilidh, have been campaigning for a round-the-clock service.
But this has been hampered by a lack of ambulances on the island.
There are currently only two available, with one based in Portree and the other at Broadford Hospital, which is around 40 miles away.
Mr Swinney said the SNP’s health chief, Neil Gray, has emphasised to NHS Highland bosses that 24-hour care must be made available as soon as possible.
On Wednesday, Mr Gray told The Press and Journal he expects a plan for this to be delivered “urgently”.
Eilidh told us she feels let down by the NHS and Scottish Ambulance Service following her horrific ordeal.
Her partner, Michael Matheson, said it was particularly scandalous that no emergency care was available despite the festival taking place.
He said: “This is one of the island’s biggest festivals, and probably the largest event of the year. The A&E should have been open.”
“It just makes the point that on one of the biggest weekends of the year for Skye, we were not able to get the medical care we needed because the hospital was closed.
“It just makes no sense. It is a sorry state.”
Too long to act
After first minister’s questions, Tory leader Douglas Ross said: “The SNP Government should have acted long ago to prevent the tragic events we saw on Skye last weekend from even being possible.
“The SNP Government are accountable for the crisis across healthcare in rural Scotland.
“Where was the will to act before now? Why does it take the tragic events on Saturday for the government to finally step up?”
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