Paramedics fear patients will die after vital kit removed from ambulances
Paramedic staff launch petition over plan to cut 'gold standard' breathing tube.
Paramedics fear patients could die after a vital piece of kit has been removed from ambulances.
Last year, the Record exclusively told how five pieces of equipment fail every day, causing potential harm or death.
Crews also said they were concerned about a proposed reduction in the supply and use of endotracheal intubation (ETI) hampering efforts to save lives.
The piece of kit is seen by paramedics as 'gold-standard', providing oxygen to the airway in an emergency.
But the paramedics' warnings were not heeded and this week the ETI was replaced by an i-gel Supraglottic Airway Management System.
However, it's feared there are some instances where only ETI will work.
Edinburgh paramedic Alex Vesco has started a petition protesting at the withdrawal.
A fellow paramedic, who has worked for the Scottish Ambulance Service for 20 years, said: 'I really cannot understand the reasoning.
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'The i-gels these days are much better and a good alternative but they are not the gold standard in airway maintenance, especially if oedema (swelling) is in the airway.
'The number of times I have saved a life using an endotracheal tube, when an i-gel wouldn't have worked, is in double figures.'
The paramedic blames 'skill fatigue' and cost and says not enough effort is made to ensure staff are keeping up their skill levels in using equipment. Now, when the equipment is required crews will have to call out a critical care team or a helicopter crew.
The paramedic added: 'It will be a postcode lottery now whether a patient lives or dies. In rural areas help could be 40 minutes or more away and if that's the case the patient will die.
A colleague added: 'This decision has been made with no consultation, no published assessment, and no explanation to staff or the public.'
Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: 'It seems like an incredibly backward step to remove lifesaving equipment from ambulances.'
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: 'ETI is no longer considered the gold standard approach.
'Improving survival for cardiac arrest patients is the aim of this measure, which has already been adopted across the rest of the UK.'
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