The Deputy will be aware of the second NAS strategic plan "Vision 2020" which was published in 2016, and the separate reviews into pre-hospital emergency care services that informed it - the HIQA Review of Ambulance Services in 2014 and the NAS Baseline and Capacity Review of 2016, both of which made a number of recommendations on efficiency reforms to improve performance. In line with Sláintecare and Vision 2020, a significant programme of work is underway to transform the NAS from an emergency medical service into a mobile medical service. This is a model which aims to treat patients at the lowest appropriate level of acuity, resulting in a better experience for the patient and more efficient use of resources.
I can advise that a new five-year NAS strategic plan is currently being finalised by the HSE. This plan, elements of which have been funded in Budget 2022, will facilitate a strategic organisational redesign and continued focus on key priorities including alternative care pathways and progress towards meeting capacity requirements and performance targets. It will be supported by an independently conducted National Demand and Capacity Analysis which has been commissioned by NAS with a view to informing future capacity requirements and workforce planning up to 2027.
In line with the overall strategic direction, the NAS does not operate a station-based deployment system, but instead uses “dynamic deployment” on a national basis. Dynamic deployment allows staff in the HSE’s National Emergency Operations Centre to see all available resources and match them with service demand requirements in real time. This deployment model is aligned to best international practice and was put in place following HIQA recommendations regarding safety concerns with former health board level control centres. The current deployment model has eliminated previous practices where the nearest ambulance was not always dispatched due to former legacy boundaries, e.g. Carlow ambulance not being dispatched to Graiguecullen, or Athy ambulance not being dispatched to Carlow.
The NAS has emphasised that there is no intention to move away from the HIQA recommended model and return to a geographically limited model which would re-introduce inherent patient safety risk that was eliminated when local control centres were closed.
The table below provides the level of Exchequer funding for the five years to 2022. Between 2018 and 2022 funding allocated to the NAS has risen by approximately €35m, and Government remains committed to funding evidence based service developments aligned to the NAS strategic direction.
|
Year
|
NAS Exchequer Funding (€m)
|
|
Year
|
NAS Exchequer Funding (€m)
|
|
2018
|
€164.6
|
|
2019
|
€170.4
|
|
2020
|
€173.9
|
|
2021
|
€187.5
|
|
2022
|
€200
|
As the remainder of the question relates to operational matters, I have asked the Health Service Executive to respond to you directly, as soon as possible.
