Leenane community calls for solutions to ambulance crisis

WE SHOULD LEARN FROM SCOTLAND
Sinn Féin’s Trevor Ó Clochartaigh.


Leenane community call for solutions to ambulance crisis


Anton McNulty

The community of Leenane and the surrounding north Connemara region have called for an urgent meeting with the National Ambulance Authority to seek to reduce the waiting times for an ambulance.
A recent community meeting in Leenane which was attended by TD’s and local politicians heard that many people have to wait over two hours for an ambulance to arrive. Patricia Keane, the Chairperson of the Ambulance Crisis Steering Group explained that a young woman’s life was put in danger recently after she had to wait two hours for an ambulance before being rushed to Mayo General Hospital.
Until recently the area was covered by the local Red Cross Ambulance service but this ceased approximately five years ago when new rules regarding trained paramedics effectively banned voluntary organisations from transferring emergency patients.
Ms Keane told The Mayo News that it was ‘crazy’ to have an ambulance in the village but they cannot use it for emergencies and called for a solution to the problem.
“This is a very live issue here because it could be only a matter of time before somebody dies waiting for an ambulance. We have a situation here where there is an ambulance in Leenane and it stays there even when people have collapsed on the village street. That has happened more than once and it is absolutely crazy.
“For me personally, I think we need a team of people to be qualified and in a position to be able to use the Red Cross ambulance. Others are thinking of going down another avenue but I would take anything that works,” she said.
The nearest ambulance base is in Clifden but campaigners say it is only manned by one team and they often have to wait for an ambulance to arrive from Castlebar or Galway which are 30 and 60 miles away respectively.
At the meeting, local TD Éamon Ó Cuív said he would seek a meeting with the steering group and the National Ambulance Authority in January and suggested meeting with HSE regarding health and safety issues that prevent the Red Cross ambulance being used.
Fine Gael’s SeΡn Kyne, TD undertook to put down a Parliamentary Question to the Minister for Health Leo Varadkar, regarding the ambulance response times for call-outs from 2010 to 2014 for the North West area of Connemara.
Sinn Féin’s Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said that services in rural Scotland showed a much more comprehensive ambulance service can delivered for rural areas if there was the political will.
Ms Keane said the group were happy the politicians were taking an interest but needed solutions and they looked forward to meeting the National Ambulance Authority to put their case to them.