Mr. Dennis Keeley:

As the Deputy will be aware from the report, we have a finite number of ambulances and resources. When they are tied up, whether it is on a case or at a hospital, and we have a life-threatening case and no resources in-house, we contact the NAS. If it has no ambulance available, we dispatch an appliance with paramedics and equipment on board that can treat that patient, pending the arrival of an ambulance.

It is not instead of the ambulance but just pending the availability of one. Depending on the nature of the case, we may prioritise it for the dispatch of an ambulance over another case.