Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Gallagher for tabling this very important issue regarding the National Ambulance Service and resourcing in the north east. I will take it on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly.

As Members of this House are aware, our ambulance service has experienced a significant and unprecedented rise in patient demand in the past two years. Last year a record total of 390,000 calls were received. This surpassed the previous record of more than 366,000 set in 2021. Of these totals, the National Ambulance Service’s north Leinster region, which covers the north east of the country, received a record total of 125,136 calls compared with 117,862 for 2021. This represents a rise of more than 6%. The rise in activity is even more significant for the number of emergency calls activated involving the deployment of an emergency resource. In 2022, more than 57,000 calls in the National Ambulance Service’s north Leinster region were activated. This compares with more than 49,500 in 2021 and represents a year-on-year rise in activity of 15%.

I can confirm to the House that the NAS is putting in place further resources in the north east. Twelve new service development paramedic posts became part of the roster system in the Cavan and Monaghan area at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022. I am also advised that a further ten new development positions, approved in 2022 for the north east, will become part of the roster system by the end of the first quarter of 2023. A total of €6.8 million was allocated to the NAS as part of the 2022-2023 HSE winter plan. Part of this investment is being used to provide for further development of such care pathways. Specifically, capacity is being strengthened in the NAS national emergency operations centre clinical hub hear and treat pathway. This is where patient calls are clinically triaged and some lower acuity patients are referred to a more appropriate treatment pathway to avoid inappropriate ambulance dispatches.

Funding under the winter plan is also being used to develop further the pathfinder model of care. This was successfully piloted by the NAS in conjunction with Beaumont Hospital to respond to and treat older people in their homes where clinically appropriate. This initiative was expanded at the end of October 2022 to three new sites in Tallaght, Limerick and Waterford. It is planned to roll this out to further locations during 2023.