Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 January 2014
592. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Health if he will carry out an independent review of the circumstances which resulted in an ambulance taking at least 50 minutes to attend the scene of an accident; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2381/14]
View answerFirstly, I would like to extend my sympathies to the family of the person concerned.
I am advised by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) that at 17.45 on 30 December 2013, the NAS received an emergency call for an incident in Carndonagh; the call was triaged as Clinical Status 1 Delta (life-threatening). The nearest available resources, a rapid response vehicle with an advanced paramedic and an emergency ambulance, both in Letterkenny, were dispatched. As is standard procedure, the NAS also contacted the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service, but no emergency resources were available. The response vehicle and ambulance arrived in 40 and 43 minutes respectively. A second ambulance from Letterkenny arrived in 50 minutes. The NAS also requested North West Doc and a local GP to provide treatment to the patient, and they were on scene when the NAS crews arrived. The patient was transported to Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry, arriving at 19.15.
The NAS has reviewed this call and is satisfied that the call was triaged correctly and that the nearest available resources were dispatched. At the time the call was received there was a high level of utilisation of emergency resources. In an effort to deal with such situations going forward, the NAS has established an escalation process with Letterkenny General Hospital to ensure that Ambulance Control at Ballyshannon is informed at the earliest opportunity of any capacity, activity or other challenges that may affect NAS service delivery.
The Health Information and Quality Authority as part of its Business Plan for 2014, and in line with its programme for the monitoring of the National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare, will review the governance and management arrangements of pre-hospital emergency care services to include the timely call-handling, response, assessment, diagnosis, care and transportation of the acutely ill patient to the appropriate healthcare facility. This review had been due to commence in the 2nd quarter of 2014. However, in light of a number of recent incidents, the Authority has agreed to my request to commence the review in quarter 1. I understand that the review will focus initially on the governance arrangements for the service and how those arrangements translate into the safety, quality and effectiveness of services for patients.
I would also like to inform the Deputy that the NAS will undertake its own capacity review to determine current and future service delivery needs. This process will examine a number of areas, including staff numbers and skill mix, as well as resource distribution.
