Hero Edinburgh bus driver takes sick passenger to A&E in double-decker Lothian bus

Staff at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary had to react quickly when the bus arrived

Heroism comes in many shapes and sizes, but rarely does it arrive in a double-decker bus filled with passengers on their way home from work.

However, on the same day two fires ravaged Liberton Primary School and the clubhouse at Myreside, staff at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (ERI) were forced to react to an unexpected vehicle in their emergency department.

When a woman on the top deck of the bus driven by Ian Bunclark began exhibiting symptoms of a seizure, the quick-thinking bus driver made the snap decision to head directly to the accident and emergency department at the ERI in an attempt to get her medical help as soon as possible, rather than waiting for an ambulance.

Mr Bunclark, who has 16 years of experience as a Lothian bus driver, had already been forced to deal with disruption and complications due to a diversion caused by the fire at Liberton Primary before the woman fell ill on Wednesday at around 6.30pm.

A picture showing the bus at the Emergency Department (Photo: Contributed)

After driving to the ERI from the route his number three bus was on, hospital and NHS workers leaped into action.

Initially heading in the wrong direction, NHS employees opened an access gate and helped the bus get to A&E by moving cars out of the way and stopping all non-emergency traffic from driving down the road.

The Emergency Department team rushed to find two paramedics who boarded the bus to treat and bring the sick woman off the bus and onto a hospital bed.