It is dangerous and disgraceful that a woman had to wait almost three hours for an ambulance following a biking accident in Glenamoy on Wednesday. The nearest ambulance at the time of the incident was in Clifden, Co Galway which is 144km away. The woman was assessed by a GP at the scene who deemed her fit to be taken by car to Belmullet Garda Station.
Speaking on Midwest Radio today:
Having to take this woman to a Garda Station when she obviously needed to get to hospital in an emergency situation is indicative of the crisis within the ambulance and wider health service. While this incident is shocking it is not surprising to us here in Mayo and in Rural Ireland. It is one of many such incidents happening on a regular basis and reflects the lack of investment in the service and the errors in the configuration of the system.
It is obvious that there are not a sufficient number of ambulances to meet the emergency health needs of the 130,000 Mayo population and wide geographic area. The only way this is going to be solved is by having additional ambulances and crews based in the County. The existing services do a tremendous job, but they cannot be in two places at the one time. They have to travel long distances on atrocious roads such as the R312 connecting Belmullet to Mayo University Hospital.
They also have to experience exceptionally long handover times when they arrive at the hospital because of the chaos in the Emergency Department which is severely understaffed.
I am asking this government to provide the proper investment needed for our Ambulance Service. Lives are being put at risk and premature deaths will occur unless patients in need of emergency care can get to hospital on time. The Minister for Rural Affairs, Michael Ring has to use his position at the Cabinet table to address this problem. It is the least people who have supported him over the decades deserve.
I am also calling on the HSE to work out a formal protocol with the Order of Malta services who do wonderful work in communities so that there is positive collaboration to meet the needs of these communities and the use of their skills and equipment are maximised.
