‘Where was the ambulance as our little boy choked?’

‘Kevin got sick and then he passed out’

A FAMILY rushed their choking toddler to a hospital an hour away after being told their ambulance was delayed, sparking calls for a full HSE investigation.

Last Friday, Pádraic Ó Cualáin arrived at his parents’ home in Carraroe in Connemara to discover his two-year-old nephew Kevin choking on a chip.

Although there is an ambulance station just minutes from their home, paramedics were sent from Clifden, some 60km away.

Pádraic claims that during their frantic dash to hospital in Galway his nephew passed out and had to be resuscitated twice. This claim is disputed by the HSE.

Mr Ó Cualáin told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘I went up to my parents’ house. My sister came out roaring. Her two-year-old was choking.

‘I patted his back and took him outside for fresh air. He finally got his breath back and we rang for the ambulance. Once we got him breathing again, we said we’d wait for the ambulance.

‘I thought the ambulance would come from Carraroe, which is two minutes away. We were waiting for a few minutes and then my sisterin-law, who was on the phone to the operator, said the ambulance was coming up from Galway.’

The incident happened shortly before 6pm, with the nearest hospital almost 50km away.

Pádraic decided not to risk waiting and took young Kevin and his mother Máire Áine in his SUV, telling the ambulance service that they would meet the ambulance half-way to Galway, in Spiddal.

They contacted Pádraic’s brother-in-law, Garda Aiden Coughlan, who met them in Spiddal.

‘In Spiddal, I was expecting to see the ambulance there,’ said Pádraic. ‘The ambulance rang me then and said there was a delay and they would be another few minutes. Then the garda said he’d take the mother and the child, because there was no point in waiting on the ambulance.’

While travelling in the Garda car, said Pádraic, Kevin began choking again and spat up the chip.

He added: ‘We knew that it was stuck in his throat and he spat it out. He got sick and then he passed out for a few seconds.

‘Eventually, he got his breath back. Then, just before the hospital, he passed out again.

‘The ambulance rang but there was no point waiting at that stage, so he went straight in.’

They arrived at the hospital shortly before 7pm. Kevin was treated and was kept in for observation. He has recovered.

Mr Ó Cualáin hit out at the HSE over the incident and said the two ambulances at Carraroe were almost never used in the area.

He said: ‘The two ambulances are always parked in Carraroe. The crews work from eight to eight, they get called into Galway city and are doing runs all day.

‘They’re going here there and everywhere – but they are never in Carraroe. So what’s the point of them being in Carraroe?’

Local Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh has demanded an investigation into the incident.

He told the Mail: ‘There are very often two ambulances at the base in Carraroe, without a crew. So my question is, were those ambu- lances in service at the time and if so, why weren’t they sent?

‘If not, why were they not in service? In this part of the country, they could be anywhere from Mayo or Roscommon to Galway.

‘We need to understand what caused these delays.’

A spokesperson for the HSE confirmed that the incident took place, but denied that the child had to be resuscitated on the way to the hospital.

They said: ‘The National Ambulance Service (NAS) can confirm that an emergency 112/999 call was received on January 5, 2017.

‘The call was triaged and categorised as an “OMEGA” response – minor illness or injury. The National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) immediately dispatched the nearest available emergency ambulance at 17.52hrs, which responded from Clifden.

‘The NEOC nurse adviser was in contact with the caller and was informed that the patient was being brought to Galway by car and an emergency ambulance was then dispatched from Galway.

‘The patient’s condition remained in the “OMEGA” category and as such resuscitation was not indicated or required.

‘NEOC was also informed that the ambulance was no longer required as the gardaí were escorting the car with the patient on board to hospital.’