I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter which concerns the seriously inadequate nature of emergency services in the Dublin region. In 1985 there were 35,000 ambulance call-outs in Dublin. A complement of 14 ambulances, 11 of these were fire brigade units and three were Eastern Health Board units, were available to deal with these emergencies. Only 15 years later the number of call-outs has soared to 90,000, an increase of well over 150%. The number of ambulances expected to cope with this level of demand, however, stands at 16, a mere increase of two since 1985.
I am gravely concerned about this situation. Each of the 90,000 call-outs made last year could have involved matters of life and death, many of them certainly did so. It is essential that in a growing city such as Dublin our emergency services are given the resources necessary to provide a rapid and effective service. The failure to increase the Dublin ambulance fleet in order to allow it to cope with the massive recent growth in demand must be addressed urgently, before we are obliged to debate this matter following the occurrence of a preventable tragedy.
I raised this matter with the former Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Cowen. Last year we witnessed the appalling situation where a large proportion of the Dublin ambulance fleet was detained in hospitals across the city and could not respond to emergency calls because patients had to be kept on ambulance stretchers. Ambulance crews were obliged to wait for hours before stretchers were returned which allowed them to respond to calls again. These problems are ongoing.
In addition to the size of the ambulance fleet, there are a number of other factors which affect the ability of the ambulance services to respond quickly to emergency calls. For example, the escalating traffic gridlock in Dublin city and its suburbs has significantly increased travel times for ambulances. Serious traffic jams make the city centre virtually impassable for hours each day. Ambulances are affected in common with other vehicles in this regard.
The ongoing crisis in our hospitals is also severely affecting the operation of our emergency services. Transfer times – the time it takes for an ambulance unit to have a patient admitted to hospital and be available again for another call-out – have increased substantially due to the deteriorating situation in accident and emergency wards in hospitals across the city. The lack of emergency beds and the lack of trolleys for patients means that they are obliged to remain on ambulance stretchers in accident and emergency units. Ambulance crews must wait, sometimes for several hours, before their equipment is returned allowing them to respond to emergency calls again. On several occasions in recent months, there were no ambulances available to respond to emergency calls. Fire brigade units were sent out to deal with those cases and to wait with patients until an ambulance became available.
The age of many emergency service vehicles is a matter of concern. Approximately 70% of fire brigade units are over ten years old. Out of 47 fire brigade units, 14 were purchased over 15 years ago and they remain in service. Many of our fire brigade units were purchased second-hand from local authorities in the UK which were replacing their fleets and wished to remove old vehicles from service. Many of these units end up forming the backbone of the Dublin fleet. An innovative scrappage scheme to remove old and unreliable cars from our roads was introduced in recent years. Does the Minister not find it ironic that the composition of our emergency vehicle fleet operates on the opposite basis?
The condition and effectiveness of the emergency services in Dublin is an issue which must be tackled now. It is abundantly clear that the necessary resources to provide a high-level, dependable service have not been invested for many years. However, the remarkable turnaround in Exchequer finances leaves the Government with no excuse. An expanded emergency fleet of ambulances and new fire brigade units are urgently required in Dublin. The staff of our emergency services have performed sterling work in the face of enormous odds during the past decade. It is imperative that the Government demonstrates its commitment to these services by providing significant new funding to Dublin Corporation and the Eastern Health Board to expand and replace the existing fleet.
I call on the Minister to give a commitment that this investment will be made before we are obliged to debate this issue after an avoidable tragedy has occurred in our capital city.
