No ambulance cover for patient in emergency

A WEST Cork councillor has highlighted a recent incident where there was no ambulance available in West Cork to take a patient to hospital.

At a recent meeting of the local authority, Cllr Declan Hurley (Ind) was replying to a motion put down by Cllr Deirdre O’Brien (FF) who called for the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to investigate the National Ambulance Service regarding the increasing delays in the service.

Cllr Hurley recalled an incident in West Cork a few weeks ago where a patient turned up at their GP feeling unwell.

‘The person ended up having to be escorted from the GP practice by firefighters to an air ambulance because there was no available ambulance in West Cork to take them to hospital,’ said Cllr Hurley.

‘Our health service is in a deplorable situation, lives are at risk and action needs to be taken.’

Cllr Karen Coakley (Ind) said it is important to commend the ambulance staff carrying out great work despite the constraints they work under.

‘A big problem is that a lot of the beds are being blocked up when the ambulances are getting to the hospital meaning they are delayed and I think they have to look at that before they can alleviate the rest of the situation,’ said Cllr Coakley.

‘It’s very sad to think that we have to discuss it here as it’s such an important thing as everybody needs an ambulance at some stage.’

Cllr Deirdre O’Brien described the ambulance service as ‘not bad, it is broken’ and said ambulances are now being called out for non-emergency cases because what could previously be treated by a GP in SouthDoc is now a call to the ambulance team.

‘This means our ambulance service is being called out for non-life threatening conditions which are now treated in the same category as an emergency, heart attack, or stroke call,’ said Cllr O’Brien

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin election candidate for Cork South West Clare O’Callaghan said emergency services are at crisis point.

‘These issues have been going on for far too long. The government has failed to act time and time again, while this crisis has only worsened.

‘It’s clear that we need an urgent review of ambulance resources,’ she said.

Ms O’Callaghan claimed the issues with ambulance cover are ‘happening weekly and not a once off.  People in the area will be at risk.’