Health chiefs have given assurances to parents in Helensburgh and Lomond over the transfer of children to hospital in emergencies.

As the Advertiser reported last week, youngsters are no longer being taken by ambulance to the A&E department at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.

Instead, they are taken direct to the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC), within the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, in Govan which involves a longer journey.

This week the health board said the “tried and tested patient pathway” has run safely and successfully since it was introduced.

They were responding to comments from Jackie Baillie MSP who had warned that the extra 10 minutes on the journey to the Govan hospital could be crucial in saving a child’s life.

A copy of a memo to ambulance staff from Wendy Quinn, head of ambulance services for the west region of Scotland, had been leaked to Jackie Baillie MSP.

The memo explained that the temporary closure of ward 15 at the RAH would become effective from February 9 at midday.

It instructed ambulance drivers to take children under the age of 16, who would normally have been taken into the RAH, to the RHC.

This sparked concern from the MSP who issued strongly critical comments about the change.

In a statement this week, the health board said: “These changes have been implemented in line with the transfer of the children’s ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital to the Royal Hospital for Children which has now been completed.

“These arrangements – which see children from West Dunbartonshire and the Helensburgh area admitted to the Royal Hospital for Children in an emergency – have already successfully been in place since last summer, when ward 15 was closed at weekends due to staffing issues.

“This tried and tested patient pathway has run safely and successfully since then.

“Before implementing this, we worked with colleagues in the Scottish Ambulance Service to ensure the safest route and destination for children from this area.

"The emergency department at the Royal Alexandra in Paisley has and will continue to see children brought to the department by their parents, although they will, if necessary, be admitted to the RHC if they require an admission.”