Ambulance was sent from Clifden to Castlebar incident
Cllr Michael Kilcoyne said there has been a number of incidents where there was no ambulance immediately available in Castlebar.
Failure to have an ambulance available to promptly respond to serious road traffic accidents and other emergencies could be the difference between life and death, a Mayo councillor has told the Health Forum West.
At the forum's meeting in Merlin Park Hospital in Galway on Tuesday last, Cllr Michael Kilcoyne sought information about the ambulance service from Mayo University Hospital (MUH) in light of a recent incident where an ambulance had to travel ffrom Clifden to attend at a scene.
In a written reply, JJ McGowan, Chief Ambulance Officer for HSE West, outlined: “During the last two months, we experienced seven instances where a single shift could not be fully staffed, known as 'single dropped shifts'. On four occasions, the solo rostered staff member was an advanced paramedic (AP) who was put onto a rapid response vehicle (RRV) to ensure coverage. For the remaining three instances, we paired the solo rostered staff member with another solo shift from a nearby area to optimise our resources and maintain a responsive service.
"Whenever a shift drops, typically due to short-notice sick leave or unforeseen circumstances, every effort is made to cover these shifts. When coverage isn’t immediately available, alternative arrangements - such as those described above - are promptly implemented to ensure continued service in the region.”
Probed further on the issue by Cllr Kilcoyne, the Chief Ambulance Officer added: “It is not always possible to fill the gaps when two or three crews are on in Castlebar but they could all be out together on calls. However, the control centre will monitor the situation and can move surrounding crews for back up. It is a very dynamic situation and everything depends on what is available.”
Cllr Kilcoyne countered: “But there has been a number of incidents where there was no ambulance in Castlebar and one had to come from Clifden, which is a long way away if you are in pain and living along a bad road.”
The ambulance chief replied: “Demand is growing and we are trying to build our capacity to meet it. I 100% agree there may not always be an ambulance available from the hospital. But there is only a finite resource available at any time.”
Cllr Kilcoyne acknowledged how the system was operated but noted: “For some reason, Mayo has one of the highest rates in the country with fatal road accidents so having an ambulance available could be a matter between life and death.”
