Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise the important matter of the HSE advanced paramedic motorbike unit in Cork. There are two such motorbikes operational in Cork. The key words are "operational" and "Cork". They have been in use for only two of the last 52 weeks. Why have they been unused and lying idle?

I am asking the Government and, in particular, the HSE to reinstate the advanced paramedic motorcycle unit in Cork as a matter of urgency. It saves lives. Our ambulance service has undergone profound change. Traditionally, it has been about transporting the patient to hospital. Today, it is much different. It is about a care pathway. Our advanced paramedics have been transformative and have saved lives since their introduction. The HSE paramedic motorbike unit has been extraordinary in providing a care pathway for people who need one.

Cork needs these motorbikes back on the road seven days a week. Response times will improve. They are operated and trained by highly professional paramedics. These paramedics can begin treatment and report back before an ambulance arrives. In cities like Cork, the motorbikes allow ease of navigation through narrow, winding streets. More important, as the HSE chief executive, Mr. Paul Reid, said in a tweet in July 2019, “These guys save people’s lives every day". He was meeting some of the team in Cork "Showcasing the new Motorbike unit to support advanced paramedic care in the city."

Paramedic motorbike units provide a rapid response. They allow early life-saving interventions, do scene management when there are multiple casualties, provide treatment and make referrals to doctors, whether by car or to a surgery or hospital. They also provide necessary transport to emergency departments and improve response times for the National Ambulance Service.

Fully qualified paramedics with life-saving skills have saved many lives prior to the arrival of ambulances. One motorcycle paramedic is a supervisor who can act as an officer in the event of a major incident or if there is an issue with staff. There is only one motorcycle paramedic which should make it easy for the National Ambulance Service to replace that person.

A similar situation arose in Dublin but the motorcycle unit there is now back on the road. It is unacceptable that a city like Cork is not afforded the same level of service. This is about saving lives. What is good for the people of Dublin is good for the people of Cork. If the issue is Covid and the redeployment of staff, there is no better illustration of saving lives than our advanced HSE motorbike paramedic unit. I ask the Minister of State to exhort the HSE to resume the services of this unit for the people of Cork as a matter of urgency.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the opportunity to address the House on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, regarding the provision of NAS motorcycle services in Cork.

I am sure Senators will join me in paying tribute to the incredible work the NAS has done and continues to do in delivering testing and vaccination services and helping to protect us all since the outset of the Covid-19 pandemic. This work is done in addition to its primary emergency response functions and the dedication of NAS staff to maintaining normal operations wherever possible has been immense. I think specifically of the early phase of the vaccine roll out when the NAS travelled the byroads of the whole country, administering the vaccine to those who were housebound.

During periods of normal operation, the NAS has a motorcycle response unit in Cork staffed by two paramedics. I understand that in order to allow the NAS to maintain essential Covid-19 testing and vaccination work it has been necessary to redeploy both paramedics back to their emergency ambulance response roles, in support of the overall emergency response. While the motorcycle response unit is not in scheduled operation, the NAS has advised that provision is being made for additional newly qualified staff to be allocated to the NAS south region. On that basis the NAS anticipates that the motorcycle response unit service should be able to recommence in the short to medium term.

As well as this specific initiative, I would like to use this opportunity to emphasise to the House the very significant process of reform and modernisation that the NAS has undergone in recent years and continues to undergo. Several important service innovations aimed at improving emergency ambulance response times and resource availability have already taken place. This includes the development of alternative pathways of care such as "see and treat" and "hear and treat" whereby medical staff based in the National Emergency Operations Centre can advise callers on accessing treatment at home, self-care, or referral to other appropriate medical services. These pathways of care help to divert lower acuity patients away from busy emergency departments and enhance emergency capacity. In addition, the NAS has developed the intermediate care service to provide lower acuity hospital transfers which frees up emergency ambulances for more urgent calls. Current data indicates that more than 80% of all inter-hospital transfer requests are now being handled by this service. These are just a few examples of initiatives that are helping to improve the availability of emergency ambulance resources.

This year an unprecedented €187 million has been invested in the NAS, of which €10 million is funding for new developments. This includes the recruitment of some 125 additional staff, which is providing for both increased front-line emergency capacity and enhanced community healthcare initiatives. As part of budget 2022, €200 million is being invested in the NAS. This includes a further €8.3 million in new development funding which will help to provide for further capacity resilience in the service as well as in the expansion of alternative care pathways. This additional investment means that NAS annual funding will have increased by about €30 million since 2019 which is a measure of this Government's commitment to overseeing the successful strategic development of the NAS into a highly agile, mobile medical service in line with the overall aim of Sláintecare, which is to provide the right patient care at the right time in the right place. In that context, Senator Buttimer’s point about having a highly agile and mobile medical service is relevant. I welcome the fact that the NAS anticipates that the motorcycle response unit service should be able to recommence in the short to medium term. We are all aware of the rapid response these paramedics are able to provide while on motorbikes. As the Senator said, they can get down very narrow streets and get around blockages, enabling them to respond very quickly.

Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. I also want to thank the members of the NAS in Cork for their work and commitment. The response is positive in so far as it contains a commitment to resume the service. While this is not the Minister of State’s area of responsibility, I ask her to ensure that we receive a resumption date. A definite date is required because, as we all know, with the greatest respect, this could linger in HSE never-never land and might never happen. The service might never resume and we want to avoid that because the HSE paramedic motorbike unit saves lives. If such a service is allowed to continue in Dublin, despite staffing issues, then the same should apply in Cork. I ask for equity of treatment because this is about saving lives. It is about providing this service seven days a week, 24 hours a day. I ask the Minister of State to go back to the HSE to get a definitive date. As Paul Reid tweeted on 18 July 2019, “These guys save peoples lives every day”. They sure do.

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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I could not have put it better myself, and nobody would disagree with Senator Buttimer's last point. It is regrettable that the motorcycle response unit has had to cease scheduled operations for the time being but as the Senator and this House will appreciate, we have been living in extraordinary times over the past two years.In addition to its primary emergency response function, the NAS has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the pandemic. We are incredibly grateful for this. To accommodate these testing and vaccination functions, it has been necessary to redeploy some resources to ensure the continuity of critical front-line emergency services. As I highlighted previously, with the provision of additional newly-qualified staff to the NAS south region, the NAS has confirmed that it anticipates that the motorcycle response unit service will resume shortly. I will take on board the Senator's request. If a resumption date could be provided, that would indeed be helpful.