Concern at inadequate ambulance service for Portlaoise

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) is overstretched, under-resourced and understaffed to the point of lives being put at risk, Labour Senator John Whelan told the Upper House. “It is a difficult job at the best of times and a stressful one on a good day,” he said. “It is intense work. The service is often the lifeline between the community and life-saving medical intervention at a hospital, including surgery.”

He said the service cannot cope with the demands being placed on it. “I do not raise this matter lightly and I have witnessed what is happening at first-hand,” he said. “How is it possible that a hospital as large as the one in Portlaoise, which serves a large catchment area that includes South Kildare, North Tipperary and the entire Midlands, is often left without any ambulance cover whatsoever?”

“I witnessed this before Christmas at a commemoration of UN veterans in Portlaoise,” he said. “A man collapsed at the event within a mile of Portlaoise hospital but there was still no ambulance after 45 minutes because the vehicles had been dispatched to elsewhere. However, paramedics who had been attending the commemoration - it was an Army and Air Corps event - had the skills and training necessary to resuscitate and save him. He had to be brought to hospital in a car after they deemed him fit to be moved. No ambulance was available. I am not making up stories or crying wolf. The ambulance service cannot operate at its current staffing and resourcing levels.”

This issue is feeding into doubts about the future of and safety and staffing levels at Portlaoise hospital, he said. “There are question marks over the 24-7 accident and emergency unit. In an unprecedented move, Laois general practitioners, GPs, raised questions about why the HSE had not come forward with a plan to commit to the hospital's future status, including a 24-7 accident and emergency service of which the ambulance service would be a core part.”

In reply, Minister of State Kathleen Lynch said it is important to note that the model of service delivery for our ambulance service has changed. “It is no longer considered appropriate for an ambulance station to provide services only to its own area,” she said. “For this reason, the ambulance service is moving to dynamic deployment, whereby all resources in a region are deployed across that region as a single fleet in response to demand. This means that, in the Midlands, services are provided across the region from Tullamore to Edenderry, Longford, Mullingar, Athlone, Birr and Portlaoise. Services in the region have been enhanced with additional staff based at Edenderry ambulance station in order to provide additional cover. The introduction of a rapid response vehicle in Tullamore further augments services. New rostering arrangements for the region have been agreed between the NAS and trade unions and will lead to greater efficiencies in the service.”