A NINE-year-old boy was forced to wait almost half an hour for an ambulance to arrive after collapsing following a seizure at his home in Galashiels.

During his fall, the normally fit youngster smashed his head off the oven door and then on the floor.

However, when his worried dad called the Scottish Ambulance Service to find out when it would arrive, an operator told him: “We can’t discuss that information with you”.

David Ross raced from his home in Woodstock Avenue to his son’s home in the town’s Magdala Terrace after his former partner first raised the alarm on Saturday, at 11.23am.

However, by the time he arrived at 11.45am, there was no sign of an ambulance so he transported him four miles to the nearest hospital, Borders General, Melrose, in his car.

Criticising the delay, Mr Ross told the Border Telegraph: “It was frightening. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. If that had been a bleed on the brain, my son could have died.

“I told the operator he was still lying on the floor twitching and asked them: 'Where is the ambulance - is it coming from Edinburgh?’ And the operator replied: 'We can’t discuss it with you’.

“I told them to cancel it and I would take him in the car. Thankfully it was nothing serious - low blood pressure had caused him to pass out; but imagine it was something more serious.” The doting dad revealed he is concerned the Borders is being left short of ambulance cover amid claims crews from the region are being held for call-outs in Edinburgh after completing the transfer of patients to the city’s Royal Infirmary.

And he revealed he was sickened to see a number of ambulances sitting idle at the new station opposite the BGH when he drove past.

Mr Ross, who revealed his former partner has now lodged an official complaint with the Scottish Ambulance Service, said: “The response time in an emergency is meant to be within eight minutes.” But he added: “There were three ambulances sitting outside the new ambulance station when we past - why are these things not manned?” The Scottish Ambulance Service revealed Mr Ross’s son was not deemed a life-threatening emergency.

It added no crews were available from Melrose ambulance station so a call was put out to a crew in Chirnside - 35 miles away.

But, before it could reach Galashiels, it was diverted to another 999 call.

Another crew from Hawick - 18 miles away - was summoned before Mr Ross called them back and cancelled.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said: “The call was received at 11.23am and clinically triaged for a 19 minute non life threatening response based upon the information provided. A Chirnside crew returning from Borders General Hospital was immediately dispatched as the nearest available response. Crews based at Melrose station were out responding to other patients. “At 11.28am the responding ambulance was diverted to a potentially immediate life threatening situation. A Hawick crew was then dispatched to respond but before it arrived a call was received from the patient’s father. He was advised that an ambulance was on its way and would be there as quickly as possible but cancelled the request for an ambulance.” The Scottish Ambulance Service went on to deny suggestions that crews from the region involved in the transfer of patients to Edinburgh are being prevented from returning to the Borders.

“Ambulance crews from the Borders are not held in Edinburgh,” the spokesperson said. “However, if any crew from another region that is returning from an Edinburgh hospital is nearest to a potentially life threatening situation then they will be dispatched to it in order to save life.” And they added: “There can be a number of additional vehicles based at Melrose station, where they come for servicing and repairs, which are not necessarily in operational use.” We read the Scottish Ambulance Service’s statement to Mr Ross - who said he was “horrified” by its content.

He added: “It is absolutely shocking that they have diverted that ambulance away from my son - the whole thing has to be reviewed. You can’t have a crew coming to Galashiels from Chirnside, that is ridiculous! If it had been someone who had suffered a heart attack there is no way they are going to get there in time.”