Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. Recently, alarmist headlines have been appearing in local newspapers. Deputy Moynihan has been saying that ambulance services in north Cork are a cause for serious concern. A HSE worker claimed that people will die as a result of these changes. These exaggerated claims are adding to people's concerns, particularly in rural areas. Changes in systems always cause some concern, but this concern is unjustified. We live in changing times with new technologies, new ways of treating emergencies, better qualifications and a free hospital environment. There are new centres of excellence where patients are assessed on the scene and transported to the most appropriate hospital. This could involve by-passing the nearest hospital to a specialised unit where better results can be achieved. The national ambulance service is not static and must regularly evaluate its resources in line with new developments in medical treatment and advancing technologies.

A service that is stuck in antiquated services is no longer the best way of serving patients in changing times. Having ambulances stuck in areas that are not being used is not the best use of our scarce resources. There would be just cause for concern if the ambulance service was not continually taking into account changes in our infrastructure and medical technology, as well as improved methods of treatment.

In the past, artificial lines on a map sometimes designated which ambulance would respond. The newer system ensures that the nearest appropriate response is mobilised to the location of the incident. Under the new system resources will be sourced from all stations within Cork and surrounding counties to support the delivery of pre-hospital emergency care.

The new national ambulance control centre is a single point of contact for answering and directing all emergency calls. This will reduce the potential for error regarding boundaries which in the past have not always enabled the nearest available resource to be dispatched in the case of an emergency.

The system also ensures that the most appropriate skilled paramedic or advanced paramedic will be dispatched based on a patient's clinical needs. This will help to achieve the best possible outcome for patients. In the past because there was not the same pre-hospital assessment, a patient was taken to the nearest hospital which in many instances did not have appropriate facilities to deal with the particular incident. For instance, all patients seriously injured in a road collision, fall or assault are assessed on the spot, provided with immediate treatment and then transported to the hospital that has specialist expertise to treat the injuries, even though this may not be the nearest hospital.

It is estimated that this can lower mortality rates by up to 25%. Equally, all children are now only transported to hospitals with a specific paediatric expertise on that hospital site. In the past, children were often taken to the nearest hospital which may not have had any paediatric or appropriate staff to deal with the situation.

Medical science, devices and systems are advancing and changing continuously, which is welcome. However, this demands constant changes in transforming the health service, all of which are aimed at improving outcomes for patients and clients. The national ambulance service has a key role to play in this process and in doing so will encounter challenges in the current environment. However, the main objective is to strive continually to provide the highest level of pre-hospital emergency care, including getting a paramedic to the scene within eight minutes and, ideally, an ambulance within 19 minutes.

I agree with the statement contained in the amendment and acknowledge the selfless dedication of our paramedics and the high quality of care they provide. I had a private experience of this recently and I can say that the paramedic arrived within 12 minutes, while the ambulance arrived within about half an hour of the paramedic. The care provided was absolutely excellent. I commend the amendment to the House.

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