THE Scottish Ambulance Service has been accused of failing to come to the aid of a teenage girl when she fell to the ground after suffering from an epileptic seizure.

Despite two 999 calls, her parents say an ambulance never turned up for 15-year-old Ellie Young, who was left lying on a pavement in the pouring rain at Rintoul Street in Blairhall on October 5.

They eventually had to move their daughter into the car so they could get her home but say they are still to get a phone call from the emergency services.

Ellie's dad, Douglas, labelled the situation "desperate" and has submitted a formal complaint to the Ambulance Service.

He told the Press: "Ellie was with her mum walking to the bus stop when she had the seizure.

"Luckily, a few women witnessed this and came over to help while another called 999.

"I arrived around 20 minutes later to find Ellie still lying on the pavement and no sign of an ambulance.

"It was now pouring rain, luckily I had an umbrella in the car but we waited another 25 minutes before making a second 999 call, only to be advised that they hadn’t sent any after the first call.

"They advised that that one would be on its way shortly and would phone to find out if Ellie was still on the pavement or if she had been moved when they were on their way.

"We then decided to get Ellie into the car and back home to get cleaned up as she had started speaking.

"To this day, we still we haven’t had a phone call from them and no ambulance has ever appeared either.

"This is a desperate situation, especially after two 999 calls.

"Thankfully, my daughter is fine now apart from having a sore arm from landing on it, but what if it had been someone older or less fortunate than her – I’m pretty sure the outcome would’ve been much more severe."

Douglas has sent an email to NHS Fife and Epilepsy Scotland as well as the Scottish Ambulance Service about the incident.

He told the Press that the Ambulance Service had advised him that the matter had been taken to a Stage 2 complaint and an investigation had begun.

"Ellie was diagnosed a few years ago and, luckily, when she has had a seizure, she has been in the house," Douglas added.

"There has only been one time when we've had to call an ambulance but they came immediately.

"We didn't know if she had hit her head this time so we needed some medical assistance.

"Ellie has only moved back to Fife just a few weeks ago and, before that, she was living in Lanarkshire but we've not had problems there.

"I was disgusted that they treated her like that. What are they going to do to make it right? As far as I can see, they'll just say they won't do it again."

Last week, the Press reported that several members of the Ambulance Service's Dunfermline depot had tested positive for coronavirus and had been sent home to self-isolate.

Despite this, the service insisted that patients were not at risk but Douglas believes they have been affected.

He said: "They advised us that it wouldn’t affect patients, all I can say is I beg to differ.

"However, we would like to pass on our thanks and appreciation to the four women who came to Ellie's assistance – unfortunately we didn’t get their names but they’ll know who they are.

"Ultimately, you provided Ellie with more help and assistance than our ambulance service."

The Scottish Ambulance Service has not responded to the Press' request for comment on the incident.