I have to apologise to the community of West Ardnamurchan for the almost impossible position in which I have been placed through the actions of some of my close relatives.
I learned this evening that the Scottish Ambulance Service has appointed a relative of mine to the Ambulance Technician position described to us by NHS officials at last Tuesday's public meeting. I knew nothing about this. I did not know that he had applied. I have no idea when he was interviewed or appointed. I heard about it indirectly. I understand that he starts the job next week.
As soon as I heard I phoned Rosie Curtis, Chairman of West Ardnamurchan Community Council, and resigned from the Nurses Action Committee. I did this with a very heavy heart but in the absolute certainty that it was the right and proper action to take.
I will continue to fight for the right of this community to have a first class, professional nursing service based in Kilchoan, but it will be in a private capacity.
I think many people will understand how you feel, but will not think that you need to apologise. They will be sad to see you step down.
ReplyDeleteThey will also feel extremely grateful to you.
You have worked incredibly hard for a very long time to help the community; the people who have behaved badly throughout this whole sorry business are the NHS and the SAS.
Has the Technician job you refer to ever been officially advertised in this community? The last NHS advert I saw displayed here was for volunteer Emergency Responders, not for a Technician. Has anyone seen anything else? Was anyone formally told that recruitment was in progress? If not, why not? Was the community given a chance to comment on the Technician advert, as they did for the replacement nurse? Are there not rules and regulations about recruitment to public service? There are a lot of questions that need to be asked!
jon your integrity and dedication could never be questioned, you're a star.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for these kind words.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the questions -
No, the Technician job wasn't advertised anywhere. The Emergency Responder positions were advertised and this person responded. He was then invited to come to interview for the Technician post!
Since there was no advert, the community wasn't asked to comment. It didn't see the Emergency responder advert either. This is 'consultation', NHS-style.
Yes, there are very definite rules about appointments to public positions. The Action Committee is looking in to this.
The point that is being missed by the SAS is that an Ambulance Technician, while better than nothing, is NOT the solution for a remote area like this. Because 999 calls aren't that common, he would have to spend great amounts of his time in Fort William, maintain his skills - where he will be of little use to us. The action Committee is angry because they were in the process of talking to NHSH and the SAS again, and there were some signs that they were listening. Obviously, these were false signs.