If the plans went ahead, an ambulance would be based in the small Deeside village and would only be staffed when required.

A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) said this week: "In terms of a retained situation at Braemar, we are still looking at this option and we do have a community meeting towards the end of the month and we'd hope we might have some more details by then. At this stage, it's early days.

"We are considering a retained situation, as has been discussed, and we are looking at the details of that. As soon as we have something we can discuss with the community, we will do."

As reported in the Piper earlier this year, two ambulances, previously based in Braemar and Aboyne, were replaced with a single ambulance based in Ballater - much to the anger of Braemar residents.

Braemar community leader John MacPherson said he was feeling "quite optimistic" following a meeting over the summer with the SAS, local MSPs and the Fire and Rescue Service.

"The main point for us was that we must get an ambulance back in the village - that is very clear in our minds," said Mr MacPherson.

He said a follow-up meeting with Allan Reid, head of service at SAS, and his colleague, general manager Sam Kennedy, had raised the issue of a retained ambulance in Braemar.

"They are now talking about the possibility of a pilot scheme - of having a retained ambulance in Braemar," said Mr MacPherson. "Nobody would be on duty, they would always be on-call and would be called out.
We grabbed this idea very hard and said 'yes! This is what we need!'"
Mr MacPherson said he understood funds and a vehicle could be found to pay for such a pilot - which, if it went ahead, would be the only one in the area.

In the Piper in July, Mr MacPherson called for the implementation of a scheme allowing Braemar firefighters to provide life-saving first aid until an ambulance reaches a casualty. Firefighters would become First Reponders, similar to a 12-month pilot scheme which has been running in Maud.

Allan Reid said the Fire Board had now agreed to make the Maud arrangement permanent and would consider expansion on a case-by-case basis.

"I will be meeting with the Fire Service in the next week to discuss the Braemar situation," he assured Mr MacPherson this week.

Meanwhile, West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine MSP Mike Rumbles claimed Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon had failed to investigate a potentially life-saving solution to the problem of a lack of ambulance provision in Braemar.According to Mr Rumbles, responding to a Parliamentary Question on the issue in June this year, Ms Sturgeon gave an undertaking to investigate his suggestion that a vehicle staffed by a paramedic be located in Braemar.

However, he said that when quizzed on the issue recently, the Cabinet Secretary could only give an undertaking to come back to him at a later date with answers.

Mr Rumbles said: "The Cabinet Secretary did her best to dodge my request for an update on the progress that she has made since June on the lack of ambulance provision in Braemar, but it was clear that she has, in fact, done nothing.

"I know this will be a bitter blow to my constituents in Braemar who are rightly concerned about response times now that their ambulance has been moved to Ballater.

"By failing to carry out her pledge to investigate my proposed solution of a paramedic-equipped vehicle, the cabinet Secretary has let down Braemar."