Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion on the unacceptable situation in the National Ambulance Service, which is completely stretched across the country. The service is at crisis levels in certain areas where wait times are simply unacceptable.

Last week, Mr. Robert Morton, the director of the NAS, gave evidence at the Joint Committee on Health. When he was asked about response times and geographic locations he said:

... we conducted a demand and capacity analysis. We commissioned it in July 2021 and it reported in May 2022. It highlighted a number of key areas of deficit. To the best of my recollection, the area of greatest deficit was County Sligo and the area east of Enniscrone was the most difficult in which to mount an effective response.

That is a pretty shocking picture for those who live in that part of Sligo. Indeed, many of my constituents have contacted me over a period of time about these totally unacceptable delays in ambulance response times. I am pleased to see, however, that since January of this year, Sligo now has a three-day, two-night crew. It used to be two and two. This is a start but it is my understanding that a four-day, two-night crew is the absolute minimum requirement for Sligo. It is absolutely essential that this minimum is put in place. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, for a commitment on this.

We need a community paramedic in Sligo-Leitrim. As Deputy Pringle said, there is one in Donegal. It is essential that this badly needed service is extended to Sligo-Leitrim.

I heard the Minister for Health speak earlier about the pathfinder model, which is a pilot programme. That too should be rolled out in Sligo-Leitrim. I believe it is to be rolled out in Letterkenny towards the end of this year but we especially need it in Sligo-Leitrim because of the existing deficit. Under this programme, an advanced paramedic, an occupational therapist and a physiotherapist can work with patients over the age of 65 on low-acuity calls. I put it to the Minister of State that this would help to alleviate some of the huge pressure at Sligo University Hospital, SUH. Just today, I received an email from a GP practice signed by eight doctors setting out again the stark realities of the severe pressure being placed on patients and staff at SUH. The Minister of State will be aware that towards the end of last year, more than 50 consultants at SUH signed a similar letter.

As I have said about ten times previously in this Chamber, the reality is seen in the trolley numbers in all the large hospitals as against the numbers of beds, or the bed stock, in those hospitals. Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, for the first ten months of last year show us the comparisons. Cork's trolley numbers were some 10% of the bed stock; St. Vincent's Hospital trolley numbers were 10.6 % of its bed stock; University Hospital Limerick trolley numbers were about 20% of its bed stock; and Letterkenny University Hospital trolley numbers were 17.3% of the hospital's bed stock. However, Sligo University Hospital trolley numbers were 24.7% of its bed stock, which means the hospital is under the greatest pressure. Obviously, it is a long-term solution to build the new block, about which I will not go into detail today. In the context of today's discussion, ensuring that Sligo and Leitrim were part of the pathfinder scheme would, in the short term at least, take a little pressure off the most pressurised hospital in the country.

I ask the Minister of State to please bring that to the attention of the Minister.

Plans for a new ambulance base in Sligo are currently at design stage and the project will be in for capital submission early next year. It is crucial that it is approved speedily and that the base is built as soon as possible. In addition, the proposed new national college to train paramedics must be located in Sligo along with the new ambulance base, ready to start training paramedics by 2024 or 2025 at the latest. These are some of the minimum requirements we need.

We have heard from many colleagues this evening about blockages in the system. Deputy Shortall clearly outlined the crazy situation in UL. There are many other issues I wish to raise but time does not permit me to do so. I will simply once again refer to the remarks of Robert Morton at the health committee last week, when he said, "There is a growing gap between demand and capacity." It is up to the Government to bridge that gap.

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