Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I worked with the Senator in this Chamber for many years. I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, regarding his request for information on National Ambulance Service, NAS, response times and staffing for Cavan and Monaghan.

The NAS serves Cavan and Monaghan from four ambulance bases, in Cavan, Virginia, Monaghan and Castleblayney, covering the entire area. All four bases are staffed by a highly skilled workforce of pre-hospital emergency care practitioners including paramedics, advanced paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The NAS operates a fleet of modern emergency ambulances, intermediate care vehicles and rapid response vehicles from these bases. In addition, Cavan and Monaghan are covered by the NAS national emergency operation centre clinical hub, 12 active community first responders groups comprising six in Cavan and six in Monaghan, the aeromedical support provided by the NAS emergency aeromedical support services in Athlone, and the Irish Coast Guard search and rescue service in Sligo.

On NAS emergency response times, I am informed that patient demand for the services continues to rise both nationally as well as in the north Leinster area, which covers Cavan and Monaghan. In 2024, 430,000 urgent and emergency calls were received from the public, representing an 8% increase nationally on the previous year. In the north Leinster area, call volumes increased by 14,662 calls during the same period. Despite the significant increase in demand, ambulance response performance improved both nationally and in the north Leinster region when compared to performance for 2023.

The HSE national service plan sets out key performance indicators, KPIs, for cardiac life-threatening calls, designated as "purple", or other potential life-threatening calls, designated as "red", to be responded to by an ambulance in less than 19 minutes. In 2024, the HSE KPIs reported 73.2% against a target of 75% for purple calls, and 46.2% against a target of 45% for red calls, in north Leinster, which covers Cavan and Monaghan. Performance for purple and red calls was 77.7% and 47.7%, respectively, an improvement when compared to 2023.

The Senator also raised the matter of NAS staffing and staff deployment in the Cavan and Monaghan area. NAS staffing numbers in the region have grown recently, with an increase of 11%, or 28 staff, in the past 12 months alone. In line with international best practice, NAS resources nationally, including in the Cavan and Monaghan region, are deployed dynamically and are actively changing. This means that the NAS prioritises resource allocation to the highest acuity of calls that require an immediate emergency response in direct response to patient needs. The NAS’s operation of dynamic deployment does mean that Cavan and Monaghan may, from time to time, be supported by NAS bases and staff from neighbouring counties to ensure adequate coverage and rostering for both emergency ambulance and rapid response vehicles.

As well as front-line urgent and emergency care, the NAS is developing and expanding a range of appropriate alternative care pathways to improve patient flow and reduce pressure on emergency departments. I welcome the deployment of the NAS community paramedic to the Cavan ambulance base, where they will operate outside of their normal emergency response role to provide care in the community for lower acuity patients. I have also been informed that the NAS plans to increase the number of community and specialist paramedics in Cavan and Monaghan over the year, broadening the range of services offered in the area.

I extend my sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the National Ambulance Service for their commitment and dedication to patient care, in both the Cavan and Monaghan areas and across the country.