Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank Senator Conway for the opportunity to update the House on the delivery of aeromedical services for the people of west Clare and the surrounding area.

Ireland's helicopter emergency medical resources are consultant-led services and are deployed nationally on a basis of clinical need, enabling aeromedical support to be provided across all regions, including County Clare and the wider mid-west. As the Senator will be aware, the HSE currently supplies two dedicated HEMS, operated by the National Ambulance Service, NAS. These are the emergency aeromedical services operated in partnership with the Irish Air Corps, which operates out of Custume Barracks, Athlone, and is staffed by the Air Corps crews and NAS specialist paramedics.

This is something I am familiar with as it was set up after the downgrading of the Roscommon accident and emergency services. It has saved hundreds of lives, and I am very proud of that. There is also a dedicated HEMS service operating out of Rathcoole in north Cork. In addition, the Irish Coast Guard also provides an aeromedical service on an available basis, through its search and rescue helicopter network, and covers the mid-west region from its base in Shannon. I understand there is also one in Sligo, which also assists with the Air Corps. All aeromedical assets are tasked through the NAS emergency operations centre as part of the national emergency response network.

I can confirm to the Seanad that we are currently progressing development of a third HEMS to serve the west and north west regions, including the mid-west, and planning for the new HEMS is well advanced. The aviation provider has already commenced the required test flight programme, and I am informed the service is expected to become fully operational in September.

The introduction of a third HEMS service represents a significant enhancement of access to national specialist pre-hospital emergency care particularly for, as the Senator outlined, rural and coastal communities such as west Clare. More generally, the Government continues to prioritise increased investment in our National Ambulance Service. This year’s allocation of over €291.3 million for the NAS includes €20 million for new service developments. This will deliver an additional 263 positions to the service and will particularly help to support capacity building in our front-line emergency services. This investment will further develop the NAS intermediate care services and alternative care pathways to ensure growing numbers of patients receive treatment at the right clinical level, and that the NAS emergency response resources are preserved for appropriate high acuity work.

Finally, I offer my sincere thanks and gratitude to the staff of the NAS and all our ambulance services for their commitment and dedication to patient care, both in County Clare and across the country. This is something that has only happened in the past 15 years, where we have advanced paramedics, air ambulances and Coast Guard cover. It provides that timely 60-minute cover that is saving lives.

I am blown away by the amount of phone calls I have been getting, certainly with the air ambulance in Athlone in the past 15 years, from people at first hand whose lives have been saved. Of course, we need to do more. I thank the Senator again for bringing this very important issue to the floor of the Seanad.