Vol. 537 No. 5
327 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Health and Children the situation regarding the provision of a 24 hour ambulance service for Killarney, County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16809/01]
The Southern Health Board is responsible for the provision of ambulance services in its functional area, which includes Killarney.
Government policy on the development of emergency medical services in Ireland is as set out in a number of policy documents, most notably the Report of the Review Group On The Ambulance Service, which was published in 1993 and Building Healthier Hearts, the Government's cardiovascular health strategy.
The report of the review group addressed, inter alia, the issue of the level of cover currently being provided by ambulance crews and made recommendations on how improvements might be made.
Significant progress has been made by the Southern Health Board on the implementation of the recommendations of the report of the review group. This progress has been facilitated by special development funding from my Department to the board of in excess of £3 million in recent years. Much of this investment funding has been directed by the board towards improvements, on a phased basis, in the level of duty hours cover in all of the board's ambulance stations. The board's service plans continue to address the issue of increasing the level of in-station duty hours cover with a subsequent reduction of on-call hours cover.
The Killarney service has been identified by the board as a first priority for the addition of extra crews to extend in-station duty cover and to reduce on-call cover. I understand that negotiations are currently taking place between the board and the staff side to agree the early implementation of new rostering arrangements to facilitate this.
I further understand that the board is confident that agreement will be reached on the new rostering arrangements currently being discussed which will ensure that the service in the Killarney area will be improved in the most effective way, directing the additional resources to where they are most needed, to serve the community of Killarney.
I assure the Deputy that the Government has pursued, and will continue to pursue, a policy of investment aimed at improving key aspects of the emergency medical service including 24-hour cover, training, equipment and vehicles. I will, therefore, continue to provide additional resources for the continuing development of the emergency services nationally to ensure that those calling on the service continue to receive timely and appropriate care.
