Longest ambulance response time to CAT 1 emergency in Mayo was over two hours

The average response times for ambulances in the west of Ireland exceeds the HSE’s national target by four minutes.

In 2024, the HSE National Service Plan set national aggregate Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets for emergency calls. The HSE targeted responding to 75% of PURPLE calls, which deal with life-threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest, and responding to 45% of RED calls, which deal with all other life-threatening illnesses, in 18 minutes, 59 seconds. Both PURPLE and RED calls are classed under Category 1.

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act to the Western People reveal that in Mayo’s health region, the West region, the average response time to a Category 1 call was 23 minutes.

The longest recorded response time to a Category 1 call in Mayo in 2024 was 2 hours and 9 minutes.

Nationally, 77% of PURPLE calls and 48% of RED calls have been responded to in 18 minutes, 59 seconds.

The National Ambulance Service have said they are unable to identify via their reporting system calls that were initially triaged as Category 1 calls versus those that were initially triaged as a lower acuity call and were re-triaged to a higher acuity call as time progressed.