Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for Health for his work to date trying to maintain health services after inheriting a funding debacle from the previous Administration. I am sure every local health service across the country will be deemed as urgent and a priority. However, ambulance provision in west Cork and the services provided at Bantry hospital are pressing issues for my constituents in Cork South-West. It is proposed to reduce ambulance cover in south-west Cork from four ambulance stations to two on a rotating basis and stop night cover. While it may appear as a cost-saving exercise on a spreadsheet, anyone familiar with the geography of Cork South-West will realise the proposed cover is not adequate and will jeopardise the health of many.

In the western side of this constituency, the general hospital at Bantry is up to 50 miles away from some people in its catchment area, not including those on the offshore islands. A journey for some of these people to the accident and emergency department at Cork University Hospital can be far as a 110 miles. To that end, a good ambulance service is critical and is in effect our accident and emergency department. If this service is reduced, lives will be put at risk particularly those in the peripheral areas of south-west Cork.

The existing service is commendable with the dedicated teams of medical technicians working long hours, sometimes travelling from Castletownbere to Cork all in an evening. Emergency services in the area are complemented by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, retained fire services and the Coast Guard. A fundamental link to these and Cork University Hospital is the ambulance service. The Health Service Executive claimed there is a safety issue involved in the provision of ambulance cover, quoting the HIQA seven-minute response to a call threshold. In fact, the HSE is quite prepared to replace the ambulance service with a first-responder service to appease HIQA. Unfortunately, such a service is not adequate for a road traffic, cardiac or stroke victim who needs to be taken to a hospital for further treatment within an hour. There is not a snowball's chance in hell an ambulance will leave Clonakilty, or even Bantry, to pick up a cardiac arrest patient in Castletownbere and get back to Cork University Hospital in less than three hours. That is assuming the ambulance will be available in the first instance.

This reduction in ambulance cover in south-west Cork seems to be a spreadsheet exercise. Taking into account the geographical layout of the area, I would warn any decision-maker not to interfere with the area's ambulance service. As already stated, it is our accident and emergency service and we are more dependent on it than is the case in any other region. Those involved with the ambulance service work extraordinarily hard and I am of the view that the service deserves to be enhanced rather than diminished.

I am also concerned with regard to the doubts surrounding the emergency services provided at Bantry Hospital. Again, the management, clinicians and staff at this hospital work extremely hard. All the services provided there have been enhanced. Obviously, cancer care and other specialist services are not on offer at the hospital and local people are quite prepared to travel the 100 or 110 miles to Cork University Hospital in order to access such services. All we are seeking is that emergency services continue to be provided at Bantry. We are not asking that they be provided at a location two or three miles away. Some of us are only seeking that the ambulance service be provided within a 50-mile radius. However, we cannot countenance a situation where we will have a reduced ambulance service and where people will be obliged to present at Cork University Hospital some 110 miles away. I strongly urge the Minister for Health to reconsider any proposals to reduce the services on offer at Bantry Hospital or to downgrade the ambulance service in the Cork South-West constituency.

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