Tony McLoughlin (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have tabled this matter as the people of County Leitrim seek clarity from the Government as to why ambulance waiting times in the county are so high and why south Leitrim generally has been left without any ambulance cover whatever in recent months. They want to know why the new ambulance service which was based in Carrick-on-Shannon in County Leitrim has been moved to Boyle in County Roscommon. They want to know when the new measures which were promised by the HSE about new personnel, ambulances and first responder schemes will be put in place in Leitrim as advised in the 2015 capacity review of the national ambulance service.

As an elected representative for the County Leitrim area of the constituency, I also want to understand the problems and to help to identify what has gone wrong with ambulance waiting times in the county. I want to know what is being done by the HSE management to try to improve response times in the county and when the national ambulance service will be returned to its new base in Carrick-on-Shannon to cover the southern part of the county.

There is much concern on the ground about this as there have been several shocking cases where people have been left waiting for hours for an ambulance. In January this year in Ballinamore, a woman aged 85 years who had fallen and broken her leg had to endure a two and a half hour wait for an ambulance. In June, another elderly lady in Ballinamore had to wait for almost five hours. An ambulance was first called at 2.50 p.m. but did not arrive at her home in south Leitrim until almost 7 p.m. The woman was eventually brought to Cavan hospital which is only a 40 minute drive from her home, and had surgery a few hours later.

These are shocking examples of what is going on across the county under the current service. I have done some research on the issue and have been advised in a written parliamentary question, according to the assistant chief ambulance officer, Mr. Oliver Reilly, that County Leitrim only ever had two ambulance rosters on duty, one during the day and a night shift. One is based in Manorhamilton while another was set to be based in Carrick-on-Shannon but, as I noted earlier, is now based in Boyle in County Roscommon where it will remain for the foreseeable future. It is alarming that only one ambulance is ever on call in the whole county. In effect, one ambulance is often not available as under the current system, ambulances must often attend emergencies in other rural parts of the county.

Does the Minister believe this is sufficient ambulance cover for a widespread rural area in which few community first responder units have yet been established? If not, will he agree to make the HSE acutely aware of local communities' concerns on this issue and will the Department of Health make representations to the HSE as a matter of urgency?

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