Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about the review of the national ambulance service in the mid-west. This will include a review of our rapid response units. We in the mid-west are very concerned that these rapid response units will be withdrawn. Six or seven years ago, the services in the mid-west were reconfigured and acute casualties services were withdrawn from the hospitals in Ennis and Nenagh and transferred to the regional hospital in Limerick. In response to this, it was decided to introduce a rapid response unit staffed by advanced paramedics.

They look after patients in their homes or at the roadside and provide urgent casualty services prior to transferring them to hospital. They were intended to make up for the lack of casualty services in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals. Unfortunately, in the reconfiguration of hospital services in the mid-west, additional services and beds were not provided in University Hospital Limerick. Consequently, there is a huge trolley crisis at the hospital which is experiencing a huge bed shortage. If the acute paramedic rapid response units are withdrawn, it will be a further blow to medical services in the mid-west. It will be a breach of trust and faith with patients and the population of the mid-west, which is approximately 440,000. Following the review of the ambulance service and the rapid response units, in particular, they need to be maintained or increased but certainly not decreased.

The services the rapid response vehicles provide are essential. Paramedics provide a triage service at the site of accidents or for someone with a serious illness; they can call in the helicopter service and stream patients to the most appropriate location, either by ambulance or helicopter to Galway, Limerick or Cork, depending on the illness or injury the person has suffered. This is an important service which is much valued by the community. It has become embedded in the acute services provided in the mid-west.

The out-of-hours services provided by Shannondoc co-operative will be reduced in the near future because there is a lack of GPs in rural Ireland. This is a major problem facing the health service. The Committee on the Future of Healthcare and the Joint Committee on Health have discussed how staff can be recruited and retained, but how can doctors be expected to work and live in a rural community which has no services? No doctor, no village means no medical service. If the Government continues to erode community services which has been happening for the past few years, we will end up with an unsustainable service. Community services need to be bolstered, which means more GPs are required. Urgent response units also need to be added.

The National Ambulance Service is creaking at the seams. A huge geographical area needs to be covered. I mean no disrespect to ambulance staff because they cannot cope because of the area they have to cover. There are significant delays in ambulances arriving. The rapid response unit is an intermediary which supplies essential services in the mid-west. If the review recommends the removal of, or a reduction in, that service, it will be extremely detrimental to the health of people living in counties Clare and Tipperary.

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