Written answers

Tuesday, 20 November 2012

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health the roster policy for the ambulance service throughout the country; if he will provide details of any regional variation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51467/12]

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health the action being taken to ensure that ambulance service staff are no longer exceeding the maximum 16 hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51469/12]

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a detailed report on the status of the implementation of the Labour Court recommendations facilitating the removal of on-call from the Cork Kerry Region Ambulance Service which was issued in February 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51472/12]

Photo of James ReillyJames Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 624, 625 and 627 together.

The Deputy may be aware that, following a referral to the Labour Court under the Public Service Agreement, the HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS) is currently progressing a number of efficiencies arising from a decision of that court. These operational efficiencies include the removal of on-call arrangements in rosters, where ambulance staff are not actually on duty in ambulance stations or vehicle but may be contacted in the event of a 999 call. This means that it could take over 20 minutes for an emergency ambulance to leave its station after the crew has been tasked. All parties have accepted that, in accordance with a Labour Court recommendation, providing ambulance services under on-call arrangements should cease.

The NAS is not a static service. It deploys its resources in a dynamic manner and works on an area and national, rather than a local, basis. The dynamic deployment of ambulance resources ensures that the nearest appropriate resource is mobilised to the location of any incident, including incidents in the greater Dublin area. In this context, any removal of overtime inefficiencies will be addressed through more efficient deployment and utilisation of resources.

As the details of rostering policy for the ambulance service, including details of any regional variation are, operational matters for the HSE, this question has been forwarded to the HSE to reply directly to the Deputy.

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