Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 December 2012
486. Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Health if he will outline air ambulance services in place in this State; if he has plans to extend this service;; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55330/12]
View answerThe HSE National Ambulance Service (NAS), is responsible for pre-hospital emergency care and for transport of public patients where required, including aeromedical transport.
The NAS uses existing state assets for aeromedical transfers, through the Irish Air Corps and Irish Coast Guard. The type of support provided is:
- Inter-hospital transfer of patients with spinal or other serious injury or illness;
- Air transport of neonates requiring immediate medical intervention in Ireland;
- Air transport of patients requiring specialised emergency treatment in the UK;
- Air transport of organ retrieval teams within Ireland;
- Air transport of patients from offshore islands to mainland hospitals;
- Air transport of paediatric patients requiring immediate medical intervention in Ireland.
Under the Treatment Abroad Scheme, the HSE arranges transport, including land and air ambulance transport, through an agreed protocol, for patients requiring treatment in other jurisdictions. Pre-approved commercial providers are used on occasion, where no suitable state asset is available.
The NAS is currently running, with the Irish Air Corps, a twelve month emergency aeromedical service (EAS) trial. The trial provides dedicated aeromedical support to the NAS in the west of Ireland, specifically where the land transit time from an incident to an appropriate facility may not be clinically appropriate. The purpose of the trial is to determine the extent, if any, of the need for dedicated aeromedical support to emergency ambulances in the region, in light of existing road networks and transit times, and how it might best be provided in the longer term. The primary focus is in the west and northwest, including HSE Clinical Care Programmes such as Acute Coronary Syndrome and Stroke. The service may respond to incidents elsewhere, where aeromedical assistance is appropriate, given the circumstances of the incident.
