Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Reilly.

The national ambulance service provides pre-hospital emergency care and emergency transport to the health service. Previously, each health board ran its own ambulance service, with little co-ordination of activities across board boundaries and no clear national leadership on pre-hospital care within the health service. However, the national ambulance service works nationally and regionally, not locally.

It deploys resources on a dynamic basis to meet surges in demand and ensure optimal spatial application of emergency cover. Dynamic deployment of emergency services ensures the nearest appropriate resource is mobilised to the location of any incident. Dynamic delivery, with resources moved around according to predicted demand, based on need and demand patterns, is more flexible and responsive, with better response times for patients and a better service.

The NAS is committed to the provision of pre-hospital emergency services in Offaly, Westmeath, Laois and Longford. There is a staff complement of 160, with seven ambulance stations and 17 emergency ambulances. A command and control centre operates on a 24-hour basis. Following a statistical and spatial analysis of the region in January 2011, the NAS made an evidence-based decision to decentralise resources to improve services in the area. This clearly demonstrates the flexibility of public services to respond to local need. Dynamic deployment in the Offaly and Laois areas is achieved by initial dispatch of crews from Birr, Tullamore, Edenderry and Portlaoise and dynamic dispatch of resources from surrounding stations, namely, Mullingar, Athlone, Tullamore, Naas, Maynooth or Navan. Supporting this deployment model is an advanced medical priority dispatch system in control centres, which uses internationally recognised protocols and standards to ensure an immediate and appropriate response. To provide a high quality ambulance service, the NAS operates with a range of statutory and voluntary and community organisations. It has co-responder systems in place with the Laois and Offaly fire and rescue services and 32 community first responder schemes to provide first responder assistance in an emergency prior to the arrival of the NAS. Last year, the NAS responded to approximately 650 emergency calls in the Offaly area. The monthly percentages of category 1 "Echo" emergency calls responded to within a target timeframe of less than seven minutes and 59 seconds were some of the highest in the country in ten of the 12 months of 2011.

The Deputy raised the issue of ambulance facilities in Offaly. I am aware that, as in any part of our health service, there are particular locations where the infrastructure may not be appropriate to the development of a modern service, and the NAS is moving to remedy this where possible. However, in the current situation, it is clear that expectations must be adjusted and existing State capital assets must be fully optimised. In particular, local fire service facilities offer an opportunity to provide solutions to inadequate or doubled-up facilities, in Offaly and elsewhere, where such solutions are feasible in maintaining and improving ambulance services. The NAS will continue to engage with local authorities on this issue in order to secure the future of services in Offaly and other places.

The NAS has undergone significant change to ensure quality, safety and value for money. In line with other clinical areas, this process is ongoing as clinical needs and standards develop. I believe these developments are in the best interests of patients and that they are a key part of the Government's work to ensure high quality emergency care. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.

See this speech in context