HEALTH bosses today set the record straight over the case of an 86-year-old patient who lay on a hospital trolley for 12 hours waiting for an ambulance to take him home.

Following our report last Thursday of John Mulligan's long wait in casualty, several readers contacted us criticising health staff over the way he was treated.

Staff at the Southern General Accident and Emergency unit, where Mr Mulligan, of Penilee was treated, were not responsible for the delay in an ambulance arriving. He was seen by doctors promptly, treated and given medication.

Staff also worked hard to make sure he was comfortable, offering him food and fluids throughout his wait and called for an ambulance five times before it finally arrived.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have described the 12-hour wait as unacceptable' and have spoken with the Scottish Ambulance Service who admit the delay appears to have been caused by a breakdown in communications'.

The Evening Times would like to apologise if our coverage of the story suggested Mr Mulligan's 12-hour wait was due to any shortcoming on the part of Southern General staff who did everything they could to speed up the time Mr Mulligan waited for an ambulance and to make him comfortable during the lengthy delay.