Edinburgh locals fume as on-call ambulance 'trapped by traffic' for 15 minutes

AuthorIndigo Stafford
Published date12 August 2021
Publication titleEdinburghLive (Scotland)
A video of the emergency vehicle which was filmed on Broughton Road, Edinburgh yesterday (August 11) afternoon appears to show the ambulance stuck on the jam-packed street which is busy in both directions.

Eventually, the ambulance is able to escape the slow-moving traffic and sounds its blue lights as soon as it gets out of the congested area.

The ambulance is then seen coming down Pilrig Street as the top of the road that joins Leith walk is closed off.

Residents have expressed their rage after the ambulance was allegedly unable to access Leith Walk because of ongoing construction for a new tram line.

The footage was shared by Edinburgh local Nora who said: "Another emergency service ambulance gets stuck in traffic for a long time to only reach a dead-end between Pilrig and Leith Walk.

The 25-year-old added: "This happened on Broughton Road and the ambulance was stuck in traffic and it looks like it was heading to Leith Walk.

"After 15 minutes stuck in traffic the ambulance passed me and I was going towards Pilrig Road and seen the ambulance coming towards me again but this time from the front cause Pilrig is closed at the far end.

"Basically the ambulance passed through the traffic slowly and went into a dead-end cause of the road closures on Leith Walk.

"That's why you can see the second video of the ambulance heading towards me.

"Everyone was pressing the horns and traffic was moving two meters at a time, waiting for the green lights again.

"The traffic had 45 minute delays and the ambulance was waiting behind for around 15 minutes.

"It's unacceptable and this is not the first time they messed up.

"I'm hoping that they got to their patient or caller on time as they were waiting for over an hour."

"The schools are going to open soon and there is one maybe 70 meters from where this video was recorded so it's going to get worse."

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