asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to a serious accident which took place at Dunkerrin, County Offaly, on the morning of 11th October, 1967; whether he is aware that in reply to a phone call at 10 a.m. to Roscrea for an ambulance it was stated that Nenagh, County Tipperary, was the place to obtain it; if the priest who attended the accident victims was told when he phoned Nenagh that he should phone Roscrea for an ambulance; if he is aware that at 11 a.m. an ambulance arrived from Thurles; what definite arrangements are made to ensure that ambulances are immediately available in such cases; if he will zone the country into areas so that in the case of an accident an ambulance service will be provided at all times on short notice; whether it is a fact that on this particular morning there was no emergency service in South Offaly and North Tipperary; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Ambulance Services.
I am aware of the incident to which the Deputy refers.
My inquiries reveal that the delay in sending an ambulance to deal with this accident arose from the regrettable misinterpretation of a message received at the County Hospital, Nenagh, rather than from any shortcomings in the local organisation of the ambulance service.
According to the County Manager the call for an ambulance was received at the District Hospital, Roscrea, at 10.00 a.m. Because the ambulance based at that hospital was already engaged on another call, a member of the staff at that hospital telephoned the County Hospital, Nenagh. Unfortunately, the message was interpreted at the County Hospital, Nenagh, to mean that the patients involved in the accident at Dunkerrin were, in fact, on their way to the County Hospital, Nenagh, in the Roscrea ambulance; consequently no ambulance was sent from Nenagh Hospital to the scene of the accident, although an ambulance was, in fact, available there at 10.05 a.m.
The first call from the scene of the accident to the County Hospital, Nenagh, was received at 10.45 a.m. and an ambulance was dispatched at 10.50 a.m., the position having been clarified with Roscrea Hospital in the intervening five minutes.
Tipperary (North Riding) County Council, the health authority concerned, has ambulances located at Roscrea and Thurles District Hospitals and at Nenagh County Hospital. Experience has shown that this arrangement has, in the past, enabled a satisfactory emergency ambulance service to be provided for the area and I am not aware of any previous complaints. I might add that the early installation of a radio-telephone system should bring about a significant improvement in the availability of the service. There has been some delay in installing this system. It will be appreciated that in a hilly district the selection of a suitable location for the transmitter can be a difficult technical matter and after a suitable site has been selected problems such as acquisition and access can cause further delay.