Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

Thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing this motion on the Adjournment. I apologise to the Minister of State for arriving late, but I was expecting a vote on the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008.

The matter I raise was brought to my attention by Councillor Orla Leyden, who has contacted Professor Brendan Drumm of the HSE and the Minister for Health and Children. It relates to the non-cover of ambulance services at Roscommon County Hospital on Friday, 14 November 2008. We have an excellent ambulance service based at the hospital. It is vital that it is maintained on a 24-hour basis for 365 days of the year. There was no ambulance service in Roscommon on the weekend in question due to the lack of relief staff and overtime hours. It is vital that ambulance services in Roscommon are adequately staffed both day and night. We have an excellent ambulance service, with conscientious staff, excellent ambulance vehicles and a state-of-the-art accident and emergency department at Roscommon County Hospital. These services are being undermined by the lack of a vital link in the chain, which is the relief of staff to cover the ambulance service.

We cannot allow a situation to arise where people in the area must wait for an ambulance to come from Sligo, Carrick-on-Shannon or Boyle to bring them to Roscommon County Hospital, which is on their doorstep. I ask the Minister of State to ensure that immediate action is taken to rectify the situation. The HSE website states that the objective of the ambulance service is to provide clinically appropriate and timely pre-hospital emergency care and patient client transport services, and that immediate responses are provided to emergency calls. That was not the case in Roscommon last weekend. If a road traffic accident had occurred in the area, which is a far too common occurrence these days, there would have been no immediate emergency ambulance response available.

This has been the cause of great concern in the area, especially in light of the debate on the amalgamation of services between Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe and Roscommon County Hospital. The key to the development of these services is the continuation of a first-class ambulance service based in the hospitals in Roscommon and Ballinasloe. In the golden hour following an accident or an emergency call, it is imperative that an ambulance would be on call quickly. A hospital service must be on call for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It cannot function without that basic infrastructure.

I compliment the staff of Roscommon County Hospital and the staff of the ambulance service, who provide an excellent service. Anyone can get sick and anyone can find it difficult to turn up at a particular time for an emergency. However, there must be an adequate relief service for such an event. I ask the Minister of State to bring this matter to the attention of the Minister for Health and Children. I look forward to her reply on this issue. The people of Roscommon deserve the best possible hospital service, including the service to bring patients to a hospital in their locality. It is unacceptable that, while we in Roscommon have a top-class hospital, we have no ambulance service in the area to bring patients to the hospital in a speedy manner.