'Abysmal' ambulance service in Offaly slammed by councillors
A COMPLETELY inadequate and underperforming ambulance service in Offaly was slammed by local councillors during their monthly meeting.
The councillors pointed out that the service could take hours to arrive, and is often coming from outside the county.
Cllr Declan Harvey told the meeting that he is being “bombarded” with phonecalls from members of the public about this issue.
“What is going on with our ambulance service?” he asked. “Why has it gone to the dogs? People are telling me of waiting for hours for a response to an accident or emergency. Frequently the ambulances are coming from way outside the county. In one instance recently the Fire Service had to step in and assist because an ambulance wouldn't make it in time. It's appalling. We need an explanation for what is going on. We need an explanation from the HSE, from the Minister for Health. A lot of people are saying now that if you fall sick you are better off getting a friend or relative to drive you to the hospital, because at least you'll get there on time and will have a better chance of surviving.”
“This is certainly an issue which we are all experiencing,” commented Cllr Neil Feighery, “in that we are all being bombarded with calls from the general public about it. It's a very serious issue. We need to meet with the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, about it. We need to point out to him that there are serious shortcomings with the National Ambulance Service.”
Cllr Noel Cribbin agreed. “It's the same problem in Edenderry,” he remarked. “Often it's taking far too long to arrive. And when it finally arrives it could be from Naas or from Mullingar or wherever, but not Offaly.”
Cllr John Leahy said it was important to point out that he hadn't heard of any fatalities arising in the county because of an ambulance being late.
Cllr Seán O'Brien pointed out that the clue to the problem is in the name.
“It is no longer the regional or local Ambulance Service,” he remarked. “It is the National Ambulance Service. In other words it's being operated on a nationwide basis and every ambulance throughout the nation is interlinked, which means if it's called it has to go, even if it's a hundred miles away. When there's an accident, the call goes out for the nearest ambulance to the scene, which could be a hundred miles away.
“The National Ambulance Service system is not working. It needs to be reviewed and reworked.
“It can be tough on the staff as well, because they are enduring long days and a lot of driving.”
Cllr Ken Smollen said he agreed. He pointed out that he knew of one young sportsman recently, who fell ill on the side of the pitch, and while his condition, thankfully, wasn't very serious, had to wait two hours for an ambulance to reach him.
Cllr John Carroll pointed out that this service couldn't possibly work on this national basis. A much more localised approach had to be taken.
Cllr Tony McCormack agreed. “This morning there was an accident at a roundabout in Tullamore where a cyclist was knocked off his bike by a car. Thankfully he wasn't seriously injured, but he still required hospital treatment. He was lying on the ground for over an hour for the ambulance to arrive. It's simply not acceptable. It's a terrible situation.”