I propose to take Questions Nos. 654 to 657, inclusive, together.
At the outset I would like to express my sympathies to the family of the person concerned.
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has reviewed the call received on 1st January 2014 requesting ambulance assistance in the Rathmullan Park area of Drogheda and has noted that there was a significantly high level of demand on the ambulance service at the time of the call. However, the NAS is satisfied that the call was appropriately prioritised and that the closest available ambulance was tasked to the call.
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.