Staff at a jobcentre refused to call an ambulance for a woman who collapsed in the street, a Labour MP has claimed.
Tom Greatrex said the woman collapsed outside Hamilton job centre in Scotland last week but when good Samaritan Andrew Wishart asked an employee at the jobcentre to phone for help, they refused because it would be breaking strict rules.
The 30-year-old was left to try to help the unnamed woman while attempting to call an ambulance on his mobile phone at the same time after his request to workers at the jobcentre was rejected twice.
Mr Wishart, from Blantyre, was then told they would only be able to help the woman if she had collapsed on their premises.
Paramedics arrived at the scene and took the woman, described as being in her late 50s or early 60s, to hospital.
Raising the incident in the House of Commons, the MP for Rutherglen and Hamilton West said the Department for Work and Pensions must provide clarity to staff.
He said: "Last week an individual collapsed suddenly just outside Hamilton job centre. My constituent who went to the aid of that individual asked the job centre staff to phone an ambulance.
"They refused to do so, citing a rule that they weren't able to call ambulances for outside their premises. Can we have a statement from the DWP on this appalling situation so that we can have common decency, good sense, and even life-saving activity rather than adherence to strict rules?"
Commons Leader Andrew Lansley said he would ask ministers at the Department for Work and Pensions to investigate.
He said: "I will of course speak to my honourable friends at the Department for Work and Pensions so they can investigate what happened and respond to you."
