A THREE Towns councillor has slammed the time taken to admit ambulance patients to hospital.

Labour's John Sweeney claimed that on one date last month, ambulances serving the area were made to wait for several hours in a queue at University Hospital Crosshouse before their patients could be seen.

He said the reasons given for the lengthy delays was the hospital being at full capacity.

Cllr Sweeney, who represents the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward, raised the issue at a full meeting of North Ayrshire Council with SNP council leader Marie Burns.

He said: "There have been reports of ambulances queued outside Ayr and Crosshouse hospitals over many months.

"I am led to believe that this was a particular issue on Monday, March 13, when at one point every ambulance serving our area was parked outside Crosshouse Hospital for several hours.

"As the council representative on NHS Ayrshire and Arran, what reassurances can the council leader provide that with such a circumstance, our health board will be able to respond to an emergency call, for example a cardiac arrest call?"

Councillor Burns said the council was represented on the integrated joint board which oversees health and social care in Ayrshire and Arran, to improve working relations, and the councillor's concerns would be raised through that forum.

The Irvine East representative also said she would be willing to invited NHS Ayrshire chief executive, Claire Burden, to a meeting of the council to explain the operational issues currently facing the health board, which in turn were leading to the ambulance queues.

Councillor Burns added: "I appreciate Council Sweeney's concerns. It is a matter that concerns all of us.

"It is a serious issue. We all know there are multiple pressures within the hospital.

"The issues which form the background to Councillor Sweeney's questions are frequently discussed at meetings of the integrated joint board, where we have elected members representation."

Ms Burden recently gave evidence to MSPs about the strains on health services in Ayrshire and Arran and admitted that the NHS nationally was facing a "reputation challenge" – and admitted that the working climate within the health system post-Covid is "tough", adding that anxiety and stress are "key drivers" in staff absences.