Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 28 Jun 2000

Vol. 522 No. 3

Written Answers. - Air Ambulance Service.

Paul Bradford

Ceist:

44 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Health and Children if the Government will provide a dedicated air ambulance service; if so, when such service will commence; the estimated cost of such service; and his views on whether lives could be lost due to the Government's failure to provide a dedicated air ambulance service. [17444/00]

Alan Shatter

Ceist:

130 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Health and Children if the Government will provide a dedicated air ambulance service; if so, when such service will commence; the estimated cost of such service; and his views on whether lives could be lost due to the Government's failure to provide a dedicated air ambulance service. [18556/00]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 and 130 together.

The provision of an air ambulance service for emergency cases which cannot be safely conveyed by road ambulance is provided by the Air Corps and the marine search and rescue helicopter service of the Department of the Marine and Natural Resources.

Contacts regarding the provision of a dedicated air ambulance service are ongoing with all interested parties involved with a view to developing a consensus on the most appropriate role for air ambulance in the overall context of pre-hospital care. The cost of a dedicated air ambulance service would depend on a range of issues, including the hours of operation, number of aircraft and operational roles as well as staffing costs. In addition, capital costs in respect of the associated facilities required at hospitals would also need to be taken into account.

Considerable research has been carried out internationally into the benefits of a helicopter emergency medical service, HEMS, as against ground ambulances. This includes work undertaken by the Sheffield University Centre for Health and Related Research studying the effectiveness of helicopter ambulance systems in London, Cornwall and Sussex, which take in urban, rural and off-shore island settings. This research found little measurable additional benefit using helicopters when compared to land ambulances. In the context of the benefit to patients, available research indicates that the benefits of a HEMS service relative to the benefits of alternative means of pre-hospital care such as a ground based emergency medical service are not significant.

It is important to acknowledge that an air ambulance service is only one element of an effective emergency medical care system. The development of emergency medical services encompass all areas of emergency care including the ambulance service, general practice and hospitals accident and emergency departments. The potential benefits of a dedicated air ambulance service must, therefore, be seen in the context of the improvements to emergency medical services generally and I am anxious to ensure the development of a consensus in an Irish context of the most appropriate role for air support in the provision of pre-hospital care and inter-hospital transfer.

Since the publication of the Report of the Review Group on the Ambulance Service in 1993 approximately £33 million has been provided for the implementation of the report's recommendations with well over half this funding being provided by this Government. I have provided additional funding of over £10 million in 2000. This is the largest annual amount ever provided for the ambulance service. The funding has been directed at improving the capability of the ambulance service to respond rapidly to emergencies and to deliver the appropriate level of on-scene care. The funding has resulted in major improve ments in the service including improved training for ambulance personnel, the opening of additional ambulance stations and the provision of training and equipment to general practitioners in remote rural areas to enable them to deal with emergencies in advance of the arrival of an ambulance.

In addition, a range of measures have been implemented to improve inter-hospital transfer services. In response to a report by the Intensive Care Society of Ireland my Department funded the development of a ground based mobile intensive care unit to transfer critically ill patients. I am also pleased to say that a neo-natal transport service for the transfer of critically ill babies will also be launched shortly.

I remain committed to the continued development of the pre-hospital care system identified both in the review group's findings and in the recent report of the cardiovascular health strategy group, Building Healthier Hearts. Proposals for the development of a dedicated air ambulance service fall to be considered in the wider context of developments in emergency medical services generally. Any initiative in this area needs to complement other pre-hospital resources such as the ambulance service, first responder schemes and other emergency response resources to ensure that the resources invested deliver maximum benefit for patients.