Brendan Griffin
Question:696. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43697/18]
View answerTuesday, 23 October 2018
Questions (696)
Written answers
Responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the Health Service Executive (HSE) which operates the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and emergency departments in hospitals in accordance with health sector legislation and national policy. The HSE operates under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Health.
As Minister with policy and legislative responsibility for fire safety and the provision of fire services by local authorities, my primary concern, as set out in the Fire Services Acts 1981 and 2003, is that local authority provided fire services are meeting their statutory obligations in respect of provision of fire services and fire safety. These responsibilities include the important activity of community and other fire safety initiatives as well as response to 999/112 calls.
In general, there is a high degree of collaboration and co-ordination of emergency activity among the Principal Emergency Services. In some circumstances, the HSE’s NAS calls for assistance from fire services in responding to certain categories of 999/112 emergency calls. Such calls are typically in respect of, but not limited to, ECHO (life threatening) emergencies. As well as being able to call on Community First Responders, the NAS is aware that many fire services are equipped with automatic external defibrillators and have trained their fire-fighters in Cardiac First Responder and Emergency First Responder to Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council standards. Fire services are so equipped and trained in the first instance to ensure the health and safety of their own staff, but can also use their skills and equipment where they encounter casualties at emergency incidents.
Fire services generally respond to calls for assistance from external bodies in accordance with protocols operated within the three fire services Regional Communications Centres.
The feasibility of fire services (outside of the Dublin Fire Brigade area of operations) being commissioned by the HSE to provide a response service in support of the NAS in responding to ECHO emergency calls was discussed at national level at the Fire Services National Oversight & Implementation Group (FSNOIG), which consists of fire service management and staff representatives. FSNOIG produced a discussion document which could potentially be used as the basis to underpin discussions with the Health sector. The document was discussed at the Management Board of the National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management meeting of 18 July 2018.
Any proposal for formalising such assistance needs to be subject to appropriate governance, cost reimbursement arrangements and to be set in the context of a service agreement with the HSE/NAS which will not impact on or adversely affect fire services' primary roles. It would be important in such circumstances to ensure that local authority and fire services' resources are not diverted from their statutory fire service and fire safety responsibilities, where they are providing assistance for another public body. The potential impact on the current Community First Responders schemes would also have to be assessed.
As responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the HSE, it would be more appropriate to engage with my colleague the Minister for Health in the first instance to advance proposals in this regard.