The Scottish Ambulance Service has issued a fierce denial of claims alleging a series of problems at the Cumnock ambulance station.
A former team member of the Cumnock crew, who the Chronicle is not identifying, contacted the Chronicle with claims that staff were at "breaking point".
Our source alleged that staff were not being able to clean the vehicles, said there were supply issues with some drugs, and advised that local vehicles were being sent outside of the area to respond to emergencies.
The former worker claimed that "the safety of the public is at risk".
But the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) said the allegations were "unfounded".
The ambulance service says that no official concerns have been raised with them, and that if they had been, a full investigation would have taken place.
The Chronicle's source said: "The area is left without any ambulances some days/nights and anyone in the area could wait for a long time in an emergency situation.
"Male and female staff do not have separate changing areas and cannot get privacy.
"Ambulances are getting sent as far as Saltcoats.
"Staff are at breaking point with sickness off the scale due to bad management."
They added: "Many staff, including myself, have left, or will do so in the coming months.
"There is no-one to mentor new staff. It’s going to have a serious impact in the future for the survival of the service."
Our source also claimed that when one member of the public called the emergency service to report a cardiac arrest, the nearest ambulance was one hour away, dealing with what they described as "a regular caller who knows what to say on the phone to get a call out".
In response to the claims, a spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We dispute the unfounded allegations being made. As a service we have cleanliness and infection control standards that all stations and vehicles are expected to meet.
"The station has a dedicated cleaner to clean vehicles, and staff also have access to professional washing equipment.
“SAS maintains robust stock management, including medication, with mitigation plans should national shortages impact on our standard supply.
"Staff undertake pre- and post-shift checks to ensure ambulances have the required equipment and are restocked accordingly.
“We are a national service and crews are needed to respond to emergencies wherever they occur.
"This means Cumnock crews do respond to out of area calls but also receive assistance from other regions if multiple events occur locally.
"We are not aware of any staff member raising concerns but if they had done so their concerns would have been investigated.”
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