Seanad debates
Tuesday, 12 December 2023
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Ambulance Service
11:00 am
Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I raise the question of the ambulance base at Gorey, County Wexford.I am sure the Minister of State will join me in paying tribute to our hardworking ambulance crews across the country. The ambulance crew that is operating in Gorey is operating in a Portakabin that is completely substandard and unacceptable as a workplace. The National Ambulance Service Estates Strategic Plan 2016-2020, which was produced in consultation with the HSE, stated clearly that there was at Gorey a "new build required" and described the facilities there as "current base unsuitable, portacabin structure". In that strategic plan the National Ambulance Service, NAS, and the HSE committed to the completion of a new service by 2020. We are now in 2023 and a feasibility study was carried out in 2021 and in March 2022, which again reported that the existing station at the rear of Gorey District Hospital was completely unsuitable. The HSE capital plan for 2023 indicates the need for a new ambulance station in Gorey but there has been no progress to date. It is clearly identified within this HSE region as the worst ambulance station anywhere in the country.
Why is the HSE continuing to drag its feet on the provision of a new ambulance station in north Wexford? It is completely unfair to those who have to use the ambulances. More particularly, this is not acceptable as a workplace for members of the ambulance crew. I appreciate this is not the Minister of State's Department but I hope he will have some answers for me. I have tried to get the answers directly from the HSE but I have not been able to ascertain progress. That is why I had to bring a Commencement matter on the issue. I hope the Minister of State will be able to enlighten us.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I thank the Senator for raising this question on the planned new ambulance base for Gorey. Since 2016, the National Ambulance Service, including the south-east region, has undergone significant reform and modernisation, involving the prioritisation of investment in new service developments, including increased workforce, fleet and improved technology. NAS staffing resources nationally have increased from 1,694 as at December 2015 to 2,279 at the end of October this year. That is an increase of 585 whole-time equivalents and represented a growth in the NAS staff complement of over a third.
In Wexford, the NAS has increased its total whole-time equivalent staff complement by approximately 25% since January 2021. I have the breakdown of the figures for the Senator and I can pass them on. This includes the total number of paramedics serving in the region rising from 20 whole-time equivalents in January 2021 to 33 whole-time equivalents currently. This year the NAS had an unprecedented budget allocation of €214.94 million. This enabled continuing investment in increasing front-line emergency capacity and to expand the NAS suite alternative care pathways, including the NAS hear and treat service in the National Emergency Operations Centre, which advises lower acuity patients of appropriate alternatives to hospital transfer, where clinically appropriate.
The National Ambulance Service serves the Wexford area out of four ambulance bases located in Enniscorthy, Gorey, New Ross and Wexford. NAS implementation of the dynamic deployment model of emergency response allows for further support from bases outside of the county, particularly from the NAS bases located in neighbouring counties, Wicklow and Waterford. The Gorey ambulance base capital project is included in the capital plan for 2023. The project is currently at design feasibility, with the HSE looking to identify the preferred site. The Department of Health is working in conjunction with the HSE to develop the capital plan 2024. Once finalised, the capital plan will be submitted for the approval by the Minister for Health, prior to publication in line with established procedures.
The development of new or refurbished healthcare facilities anywhere in the country cannot be seen in isolation or separate from the delivery of related healthcare services. Projects are approved by the hospital group and then approved by the relevant HSE directorate, before being submitted to the HSE national capital and property steering committee, NCPSC. Once approved by the NCPSC, the project is eligible for prioritisation and inclusion in the capital plan, subject to the level of funding.
As the Senator may be aware, management and administrative grade staff in the Fórsa trade union in the HSE commenced industrial action on Friday, 6 October.As a consequence of this industrial action, members in these grades are not engaging with political forums or processes. As a result, the information provided in this response is the
most up to date we can provide at this time.
Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I appreciate that the Minister of State is answering on behalf of the Department of Health but tell us something we do not know. Essentially all we are told is that it is included in the capital plan even though it had been in the strategic plan for 2016 to 2020. There has been no progress. What the Minister of State is clearly saying is that the HSE has given no real commitment to the development of the ambulance base in Gorey. The Minister of State said it cannot be seen in isolation from the delivery of related healthcare services. Given that the development of the primary care service facility in Gorey has taken longer than the National Children's Hospital, it is not unfair for me to conclude that the estates division of the HSE has no interest in the development of capital services in the north Wexford area. This has been running on for nearly a decade. It is completely unacceptable and I ask the Minister of State to bring it back to the Minister and the HSE.
Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)
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I will do that. I have given an outline of the fact that it has been included in the capital plan for 2023 and the pathway by which it can then progress through the national capital and property steering committee. The response is the response. I note the Senator's concerns and the fact that he is dissatisfied with the response and I will certainly take this back directly to the Minister on the Senator's behalf.