HSE ambulance staff start work in Mulranny base

HSE ambulance staff start work in Mulranny base


Anton McNulty

THE Mulranny ambulance base will provide 24-hour cover for the western part of the county by the end of the month after the base became operational last week.
The ambulance base in Mulranny has been open since 2013 but has never been staffed until last Tuesday when the first Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) moved into the facility. The base which will have one ambulance is currently being staffed on a incremental basis but is expected to be fully covered with nine staff at the end of the month and operating on a 24-hour basis.
The lack of an ambulance base in the area resulted in ambulances going to Mulranny and Achill had to travel from Castlebar, which meant that patients in these areas could not receive urgent attention within the recommended time frame. Achill-based Fianna FΡil councillor Paul McNamara welcomed the opening of the Mulranny base which he said will provide much needed emergency medical cover for the surrounding area.
“This is great news for the Achill, Mulranny, Ballycroy and surrounding areas of the county for both young and old people. It will be to the benefit of every family in the area and will provide essential emergency cover for the area. This will be crucial in life and death situations,” he said.
Cllr McNamara praised the local doctors of the area for campaigning for introduction of a permanent ambulance base for over 20 years.
Its future remained in considerable doubt until January when An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny announced that 45 HSE positions had been approved, inculding staff designated to man the Mulranny base.
In 2014, the Health Information and Quality Authority described Mulranny as one of three ‘well-known ambulance blackspot areas’, and up to 3,000 people signed a petition calling for the opening of a fully-staffed base in Mulranny.
The petition was delivered to Mr Kenny’s constituency office in December by local GP and former TD, Jerry Cowley, who said the opening of the base was long overdue and will save lives in the future.