Ó Murchú says just four ambulances available in Louth from 8pm to 8am

Capacity issues for the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in Louth have been highlighted by Dundalk TD Ruairí Ó Murchú who says he has information that there are four ambulances available in the county between 8pm and 8am, serving a population of almost 140,000.

The Sinn Féin deputy used time in Leinster House last week to again raise, with Tanáiste Micheál Martin, the case of a 93-year-old woman in Dundalk who waited for almost four hours for an ambulance to arrive on November 10 while she lay on the floor of her house with a broken pelvis.

Deputy Ó Murchú said he had been speaking to members of the NAS in the wake of this incident and they have told him that there are three ambulance stations in the county – Dundalk, Ardee and Drogheda.

“During the day, between 7am and 9pm, there are six ambulances available, along with one rapid response jeep and two intermediate care vehicles.

But between 8pm and 8am, there are four ambulances on call in the county. According to Deputy Ó Murchú: “Ardee has the newest station completed in 2021 and has zero capability of vehicle expansion.

“Dundalk and Drogheda are not purpose built stations and are not, to put it bluntly, fit for purpose, and there is no capacity for further expansion to accommodate more vehicles’.

Staffing levels are also of concern, he has been advised and further recruitment is needed for the service in Louth. He said: “While the majority of shifts are covered in each station, it is often the case where single crew members in stations team up to make two-person crews thus reducing number of vehicles in service.

“Ardee has an RRV, a Rapid Response Vehicle with one paramedic. It is often the case they are left awaiting the arrival of an ambulance for transport, which can be for long periods of time.

“But the clock has stopped on call-out because an RRV has arrived, even though they have to wait for an ambulance for transporting the patient to hospital.

“The NAS in Louth is dealing with a ten-fold rise in callouts in the last ten years with the same resources on the road.

“It is also important to say that all the ambulance jeeps, cars and motorbikes are classified on paper as ambulances which makes it look like resources have increased for patient transportation which clearly is not the case.

“The Lourdes Hospital is the regional receiving hospital for ambulance calls in the area. The turnaround time for crews to return to their area is lengthy at times and necessitates crews from other areas travelling longer distances which in return causes longer waiting times for patients who need NAS help.

“In addition, the ambulance service in Louth has reported that more patients are calling on their assistance for transport purposes as they have no other way to travel to Drogheda.”

Deputy Ó Murchú said he is also concerned about the lack of short notice GP appointments available, particularly in Dundalk, which can lead to people calling ambulances for medical help as they can’t get to see their doctor.

He said: “The public still has this perception that when they ring an ambulance they will be seen quicker in the emergency department which is not the case.

“We need answers from the HSE as to how the November 10 incident happened, how many crews were available that night and what is going to be done to ensure this does not happen again”.