Two ambulances driven by military personnel crashed within 48 hours of the Army being brought in to help Scotland’s 999 crisis.
Now unions have raised concerns over army drivers carrying out ambulance duties, saying they lack the intensive driver training required.
Unite has been calling for the Scottish Government to use the Army to set up field hospitals so emergency ambulance crews can get a quicker turnaround at hospitals.
But Health Secretary Humza Yousaf instead called in the military to drive the ambulances.
An ambulance service source told the Record : “Two Army drivers out of the Leverndale ambulance station in Glasgow have crashed.
“One hit a car half a mile from the ambulance station en route to pick up a patient, so there was just a paramedic in it with the army driver at the time."
The other ambulance was not carrying a patient either and damage to both vehicles was "minimal".
But the source added: “These guys clearly can’t even drive ambulances in daylight never mind a blue light.
“There is a big difference between driving trucks and driving ambulances around Scotland’s roads. They are using soldiers in the wrong way.”
The military drivers only started on Sunday and the first crash was the same day. The second followed just a day later.
Paramedics in Glasgow fear there may be others around the country they have not heard about.
Paramedics union Unite confirmed the bumps were “minor” with no injuries.
Unite’s ambulance service convener Jamie McNamee commented: “This is the kind of thing we have been warning about.
“People think you just jump into ambulances and off you go but ambulances are not just big vans.
“It takes us four weeks of advanced training to learn to drive them but the military drivers jumped in on Saturday for a quick whirl round and were expected to be competent on the Sunday.
“We would obviously expect people to be competent and fully trained in the driving of ambulance vehicles before they are asked to drive them - under any circumstances.
“Ambulance staff go through intensive specialist driving techniques including skid pan training and progressive driving skills in order to qualify for a driving exemption which allows them, for example, to treat a red light as a give way and to speed.
“People think the ambulance service has the exemption but it doesn’t; it is given to individuals who have completed the course. That’s why the military can’t drive on blue lights.”
Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “We are, of course, grateful to the British Army for stepping up to help but this shows there are no short cuts to solving the ambulance crisis.
“This isn’t just about having more drivers, the SNP Government need to listen to Unite and shorten turn around times so that ambulances aren’t queuing round the block to get in the front door of A & E.”
A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “The military drivers that are currently supporting SAS are professional drivers who have undergone full training within the military and have had a Scottish Ambulance Service driving assessment. The majority of these drivers have also previously supported other UK ambulance services.”
The Army has been approached for comment.
