The massive spending on private ambulances is a worrying sign that Fine Gael’s priority in healthcare is to boost the private sector while failing to invest in local public healthcare for the future. HSE figures released today show that €936,172 was spent in 2018 by Mayo University Hospital on private ambulances.
Spending huge amounts on private and agency staff does absolutely nothing to develop the healthcare system in Mayo. Figures released to my Sinn Féin colleague, Louise O’Reilly TD, shows that since 2011, Mayo University Hospital has spent €5,715,372 on private ambulance cover. Not one new ambulance vehicle was purchased and not one member of ambulance staff has been recruited from this massive spend. It does not represent value for tax payers’ money and does nothing to ensure adequate ambulance cover for future years.
Since 2011, the HSE has spent a total of €44 million on private ambulances. Had this money been invested in the public healthcare system it would have bought at least 202 fully equipped ambulances.
Time and again we hear horror stories of people waiting hours for an ambulance to reach them in Mayo. Putting money into private ambulance provision is temporary and does nothing to ensure that incidents of long waiting times do not happen again. What is needed is targeted investment in local healthcare provision, including the ambulance service.
Only when improved, permanent local healthcare services that are staffed and resourced adequately are funded can people take seriously the Government’s commitment to healthcare in Mayo.
