Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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654. To ask the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the fact that an ambulance was available in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in the early hours of New Year’s Day when an ambulance from Ardee was dispatched to Drogheda to respond to the stabbing of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2840/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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655. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide details of the Health Information and Quality Authority investigation into the ambulance response to the stabbing of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2841/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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656. To ask the Minister for Health if he will ask Health Information and Quality Authority to carry out a thorough investigation into the resourcing, structure and management systems of the ambulance service in the north east region; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2842/14]

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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657. To ask the Minister for Health if he will ensure that any investigation by Health Information and Quality Authority into the ambulance service in County Louth is carried out in consultation with those frontline staff in our ambulance service who work long hours and provide a remarkable service, often with inadequate resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2843/14]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 654 to 657, inclusive, together.

At the outset I would like to express my sympathies to the family of the person concerned.

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has reviewed the call received on 1st January 2014 requesting ambulance assistance in the Rathmullan Park area of Drogheda and has noted that there was a significantly high level of demand on the ambulance service at the time of the call. However, the NAS is satisfied that the call was appropriately prioritised and that the closest available ambulance was tasked to the call.

The Health Information and Quality Authority as part of its Business Plan for 2014, and in line with its programme for the monitoring of the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare, will review the governance and management arrangements of pre-hospital emergency care services to include the timely call-handling, response, assessment, diagnosis, care and transportation of the acutely ill patient to the appropriate healthcare facility. This review had been due to commence in the 2nd quarter of 2014, however, in light of a number of recent incidents, the Authority has agreed to my request to commence the review in quarter 1. I understand that the review will focus initially on the governance arrangements for the service and how those arrangements translate into the safety, quality and effectiveness of services for patients.

I would also like to inform the Deputy that the NAS will undertake its own capacity review to determine current and future service delivery needs. This process will examine a number of areas, including staff numbers and skill mix, as well as resource distribution.