John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank him for taking this debate.

I am rather concerned about what appears to be a serious lack of paramedics in the west of Ireland. I remember in 2006 or 2007, when Professor Drumm was in charge of the HSE and there was talk of closing the accident and emergency department in Roscommon County Hospital, he promised that we would almost have an advanced paramedic at every crossroads in the country. That never materialised. I do not blame the staff who operate the ambulance service or the paramedics we have. They provide an excellent service within the limited resources available. I acknowledge that a person can be lucky, and when the system works it works very well. If it happens to be the case that an advanced paramedic is within ten or 15 minutes of a patient, it is a great service.However, I spoke to one paramedic who told me that there is a need for 100 additional paramedics in the west of Ireland.

Some years ago, west Roscommon was ear-marked for an ambulance base. To date, this has not been delivered. There is a dispute involving staff who do not wish to move from their present location to this new ambulance base. It is not being staffed, outside of what is already in the system. This is different to the other two ambulance bases promised at the same time, on Achill island and in Tuam, which were staffed.

The week before last, in my hometown, a 19 year old lad had a heart attack. The ambulance and paramedics were called. Two local firemen worked on him to keep him alive as long as they could. Unfortunately, he was dead by the time the ambulance arrived 40 minutes later. Later on that day, in the same estate, an ambulance was called for an elderly man. The ambulance arrived and the man was put into the back of it, but the ambulance would not start. Elderly people had to push the ambulance down the hill to start it. Later on that evening, conditions were not great and there was a car accident. Again, the ambulance took 40 minutes to arrive at the scene. It is nearly a crime in Dublin not to have an ambulance within eight minutes, but it is hit and miss down the country. It really is a matter of luck on occasions. I have no doubt the HSE will tell the Minister that we have a great system which is working well. The evidence on the ground is to the contrary.

I have a solution to the problem for rural Ireland. It is one which can be implemented within 12 weeks. I have run it by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly. I have spoken to firemen about it. There will be no resistance to this suggestion. Four firemen out of every brigade in local towns, in counties such as Roscommon, could be trained to emergency medical technician, EMT, level. They could be first responders. The training course takes just 12 weeks. I ask the Minister to consider piloting this in County Roscommon so that we can prove there is a better system. This suggestion would enhance the paramedic system in place at the moment.