Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise the need for the Minister for Health to explore all options to extend the emergency aeromedical service based at Custume Barracks, in Athlone, to a night-time service. I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak about this vital service, which I helped secure in 2012 with the help of the then Minister for Health, now Senator James Reilly, and the then Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence, former Deputy Alan Shatter. I thank the Minister of State also for being here today to discuss this important issue.

Since coming into operation five years ago, the emergency aeromedical service or, as it is commonly known, the air ambulance service, has played a key role in providing critical air support options in response to major emergencies, not least in the catchment area of Roscommon hospital. There is evidence that the Air Corps helicopters have carried out thousands of life-saving missions across the region I live in since it was established. The service located in Custume Barracks in Athlone has undoubtedly saved many lives, and none more so than in Roscommon. Countless lives, from Ballaghaderreen to Ballyleague and Athlone to Arigna, have been saved. This is about a lifesaving approach centred on bringing the hospital to the patient in an emergency. I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Air Corps pilots, the advanced paramedics and the ground ambulance personnel who do fantastic work in stressful conditions saving the lives of many people.

It is also important to highlight that a large percentage of air ambulance work involves dealing with serious heart attacks where time is of the essence. The gold standard treatment for ST-elevation myocardial infarctions, STEMIs, is access to a 24 hour specialist unit such as Galway within 90 minutes of diagnosis. Usually, helicopter flight times to these specialist centres take little more than 20 minutes to complete. That rapid response service has become an important element of the region's emergency response infrastructure.It goes without saying that the service has proved to be transformative for many critically ill patients and ensures that those living in rural areas have timely access to specialised treatment available in the larger hospitals. We all know the speedier the treatment in the case of heart attacks and strokes, the better the outcomes for patients.

Not so long ago, it was very encouraging to hear the air ambulance being praised highly by a Roscommon general practitioner and a Longford general practitioner on one of my local radio stations. Both doctors recounted incidents where the air ambulance allowed for speedy access to treatment, making a major difference to the lives of critically ill patients. The Roscommon general practitioner, Dr. Greg Kelly, who was a candidate for Fianna Fáil in the 2002 general election, said in the local radio interview that the helicopter service is now more important to the people of County Roscommon than an accident and emergency department as critically ill patients get the expert treatment they need by getting very quick access to a centre with the specialist skills.

In light of the considerable success of the service, what options are available to extend the air service to include a night-time service? As the Minister of State knows, the current protocols do not allow this to happen. During the summer, it is not really an issue given the substantial amount of daylight hours, which allow the emergency air ambulance to fly for much longer, but I ask the Minister of State to explore the possibility of extending this very valuable and necessary service to include a night-time service.