John Swinney has been warned of the “human cost of SNP failure” after a 55-year-old woman died while waiting four hours for an ambulance.
Dame Jackie Baillie accused the First Minister of “dishonesty” over his “broken promises” on ambulance wait times.
The SNP leader accepted the treatment of Ms Parker was “unacceptable” and said Health Secretary Angela Constance would meet with her family, following a review of her case.
“This summer, Julie Parker was left dying on her bathroom floor, waiting for help,” the acting Scottish Labour leader said during FMQs.
“The police phoned 999 when they found her. They phoned again when no ambulance came.
“It took four hours for an ambulance to arrive, but by then it was too late. She was just 55-years-old. That is the human cost of SNP failure.
“So when will John Swinney realise that the dishonesty and broken promises of this Government have consequences?”
Dame Jackie said Ms Parker’s case happened despite “years of promises” by the First Minister.
She said: “We challenged him on the crisis in ambulance care in May last year, September last year, November last year, and again in January this year, he stood on that very spot and promised to fix the problems in the ambulance service, but he never does.”
Mr Swinney described Ms Parker’s case, which occurred in June, as “an unacceptable example of healthcare promise”.
The SNP leader said he would not make “any attempt to shield from that”, adding: “We work hard to improve them, but unfortunately, there will be cases where the outcomes are not what we would want them to be.
“We have to learn the lessons and to focus on improvements. That is what drives the agenda of the Government.
“We try to ensure that we deliver the improvements that are necessary, and the Health Secretary will engage with Julie Parker’s family to discuss this issue.
“Let me close by expressing my condolences to Julie Parker’s family.”
Mr Swinney said he had read the transcript of the 999 call from police officers to the ambulance service, which were published by the Daily Record on Thursday.
“It is profoundly disturbing,” he said of the call, “and it requires to be examined and that is exactly what will be done.”
The newspaper reports that Ms Parker died on her way to Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock after collapsing in her flat and laying alone for several days.
Police were called and after finding her phoned for an ambulance several times, telling a call handler at one point: “We’re just concerned as she’s been lying there for two days, possibly three, and her legs are kind of going a bit of an odd colour.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: “We would again like to extend our deepest condolences to Ms Parker’s family and are very sorry for their loss.
“This case is currently being jointly reviewed with NHS Ayrshire and Arran as part of a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER).
“We have also contacted the family to offer them the opportunity to meet with us and discuss the case privately.”