Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 629: To ask the Minister for Health if he will request the Health Information and Quality Authority to carry out a full inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the ambulance response in connection with a fatality in Drogheda, County Louth (details supplied) as a result of a road traffic accident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3501/12]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 630: To ask the Minister for Health if he is satisfied with the operation of the ambulance service in Drogheda, County Louth, in view of the delays in ambulance response to a fatal accident as a result of a road traffic accident in Drogheda (details supplied); the measures he and the Health Service Executive will implement as a matter of urgency in order to restore confidence in the operation of the national ambulance service in the Drogheda area in view of the fact that similar delays were experienced connected with a death in the town on 26 May 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3502/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 665: To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a report on the incident on 16 January 2012 when a woman died on the side of a road in Drogheda, County Louth, while an ambulance took 20 minutes to arrive. [3918/12]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 666: To ask the Minister for Health his views that there is adequate ambulance cover in the Drogheda area in view of two recent incidents in which patients have died on the side of the road in Drogheda, County Louth, waiting for ambulances to arrive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3919/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 629, 630, 665 and 666 together.

As the HSE have investigated this incident and given that the response time was within the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) target for responses to Clinical Status 1 incidents by a patient-carrying vehicle, which is 18 minutes and 59 seconds, I do not consider it necessary for HIQA to carry out an inquiry into this case. I understand that confusion may have arisen, and may have led to an impression that the response time was considerably longer, as a result of a procedural omission in which the on-scene arrival status button in the vehicle was not activated on arrival at the incident.

With regard to the second incident, a 999 call was received at 09:59 hours on the 26th May 2011. At 10:00 hours, the nearest available Emergency Response vehicle was dispatched to the scene. It appears that a passing doctor started basic life support but then directed third parties to remove the patient in a van. At 10.08 hours (9 minutes after receipt of the original call), a second 999 call, again by a third party, was received from the scene cancelling the ambulance as the patient was being transported by a private vehicle.

The NAS works on an area, rather than a local, basis and it is a dynamic rather than a static service in order to ensure the best placement of emergency cover. Seven emergency ambulances operate directly within this area: two in Drogheda, four in Dundalk and one in Ardee. They are supported by ambulances from surrounding stations in the first instance and also by NAS resources from adjoining areas.

Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour)
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Question 631: To ask the Minister for Health the ambulance cover that is currently available for families living in County Meath; the hospitals ambulances attend to which areas in Meath; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3524/12]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for direct reply.