TD and SIPTU press for end to Ambulance Service staffing shortage in south Tipperary

A TD and trade union have appealed to the HSE and Government to urgently fill eight vacant posts in the National Ambulance Service in south Tipperary due to the stress being caused to existing paramedic staff.

Independent TD Mattie McGrath raised the National Ambulance Service staffing shortage with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in the Dáil last week and called for the two temporary and six full-time staff vacancies in the Clonmel, Cashel and Tipperary ambulance centres to be filled.

His appeal has been echoed by SIPTU, the trade union that represents most National Ambulance Service staff.

The union has called for National Ambulance Service paramedic posts to be exempted from the current HSE recruitment freeze like the exemption in place for consultant doctors, doctors in training and graduate nurses and midwives.

Deputy McGrath highlighted how National Ambulance Service staff in south Tipperary are struggling to sustain the emergency service at the level required due to the eight staff vacancies during Dáil question time on Government policy last Wednesday, November 15.

He told the Taoiseach that the recruitment of the eight staff for the Clonmel, Cashel and Tipperary ambulance centres is badly needed as the staffing shortage is causing “huge trauma and stress” on existing staff based in these centres that serve the whole of south Tipperary as well as part of county Waterford.

The Newcastle TD called for a commitment from the Taoiseach to bring the Ambulance Service up to its full staffing level.

Mr Varadkar replied that he appreciated this was a very important issue and said he would ask Health Minister Stephen Donnelly to come back to Deputy McGrath with a response.

SIPTU Ambulance Sector Organiser Ted Kenny said the number of staff vacancies in the Ambulance Service in south Tipperary along with the recently announced HSE recruitment freeze were a great cause of concerns to its members.

He said unfilled vacancies was putting a strain on existing staff.

He pointed out that if the Ambulance Service can’t fill the staffing on a shift, the shift can end up being dropped, which in turns puts extra pressure on ambulance crews based in other centres.

“If there is no ambulance available in Cashel tonight then an ambulance might have to cover from Clonmel,” he explained.

“The other scenario that has previously happened is you have ambulance crews travelling long distances to emergencies.”

He gave the hypothetical example of an ambulance not being available in south Tipperary due to staff shortages and other call outs. When someone in this catchment area dialls 999, the control centre will call out the next nearest ambulance crew, which could be Mallow or Kilkenny, he said.

Mr Kenny stressed that having ambulances travelling from long distances was unacceptable. “It's putting lives at risk. In emergencies, time is of the essence.”

He pointed out that the National Ambulance Service only began a big recruitment drive in the past 12 months with a big intake into the National Ambulance Service College.

It will take several years for these recruits to come through training. The National Ambulance Service had also been actively recruiting qualified paramedics both in Ireland and outside the jurisdiction.

Mr Kenny said the HSE recruitment freeze announced by the Government was a cause of great concern in relation to the impact it will have on areas like south Tipperary where there are staff shortages.

“We have raised our concerns with the national director of the National Ambulance Service and he in turn has raised it with HSE management and is awaiting a response.”

Mr Kenny said SIPTU was calling for National Ambulance Service posts to be exempt from the recruitment freeze.

“How can you justify having no recruitment ban for nurses but not for paramedics,” he asked.

The Nationalist contacted the HSE for a response to the issues raised by Deputy McGrath and Mr Kenny.

The reply didn’t address the issue of exempting NAS paramedic staff vacancies from the recruitment ban.

The HSE explained that the Government funded the HSE to recruit over 6,000 new posts this year to support the development of services.

This target was reached before the end of the year, hence the “temporary pause” in recruitment. The HSE also filled 13,000 replacement posts this year.

The HSE noted that its workforce is at its highest since 2006.

 “The Government has made it clear that we must not recruit beyond our agreed target.

“Conscious of this and of the pace of recruitment this year, in recent months we put in place controls in relation to the recruitment of management and administration staff. 

“We then implemented a recruitment pause for management and administration early in October. 

“This was extended further across the HSE to other staff categories on November 10.  We are obliged to put in place responsible controls and measures.”

In relation to the National Ambulance Service, the HSE explained that ambulances may travel to and be dispatched from various locations irrespective of their base as they are not confined to work in geographical areas.

“This means that an ambulance based in Tipperary may be dispatched to a call in Limerick if it has just handed over a patient in University Hospital Limerick and it is the nearest available ambulance to the incident.

“The current deployment model is designed around international best practice and has eliminated previous practices where the nearest ambulance was not always dispatched due to former legacy boundaries.”
 

The HSE pointed out the NAS deploys approximately 160-180 emergency ambulances, an average of 22 rapid response vehicles and in excess of 50 officer response vehicles operating from over 100 locations around the country.

It also supports a nationwide network of Community First Responder volunteers trained to attend certain types of emergency calls in the area where they live or work while a dedicated Helicopter Emergency Service is provided from Rathcool Aerodrome in North Cork.

 “As demand can exceed available resources, 999 calls are clinically triaged and prioritised to ensure that patients with life threatening injuries or conditions receive the fastest response possible,” said the HSE statement.

“If a 999 call is not time critical, then during busy periods, these calls will wait longer for a response. Thankfully, it remains the case that the majority of 999 calls do not relate to life threatening emergencies.”

 The HSE further pointed out that National Service Plan 2023 targets include 75% of 999 calls, where cases of life threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest, referred to as ‘Purple’ calls, should be met within 19 minutes and 45% of 999 calls, where cases of life-threatening illness or injury other than cardiac arrest, referred to as Red calls, should be met within 19 minutes.

“From April to September 2023, NAS reached 72% of Purple calls in 19 minutes and 46% of Red calls in 19 minutes. The NAS response times performance are broadly in line with last year which represents an improvement when considering year-on-year rising demand.”