Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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Great. In County Roscommon, after the closure of the accident and emergency department in 2011 and as a result of the distance to the next nearest available accident and emergency service, the people of Roscommon were promised a rapid response vehicle to be staffed by an advanced paramedic on a 24-7 basis. For about a year and a half at this point, a paramedic has been on one of the lines when it should be an advanced paramedic. That is unacceptable. It breaks a commitment made to the people of Roscommon and leaves those in live in some of the many rural parts of the county in a very vulnerable position. Given that there is a difference between paramedics and advanced paramedics - although at one point the HSE informed me that there is no difference - why is an advanced paramedic line in County Roscommon being filled a lot of the time by a paramedic? The rapid response vehicle is parked up on Monday nights. Again, that was promised to available 24-7.