Paramedics ‘were not at fault’ after being sent to wrong location three times
AN investigation carried out by the National Ambulance Service into why paramedics responding to a double drowning were sent to three incorrect locations before eventually arriving at the right location, has found “no fault” with how staff handled the incident.
In a written deposition, witness Alan West, an HSE advanced paramedic based in Ennis, said he received a call at “approximately 15:28hrs”.
He said that “initially there was confusion over which quarry”, and explained in evidence there were “a number of quarries around Ennis”.
Giving evidence at the inquest, he said he went to three different quarries in the area before eventually getting directions to the correct one: “We have a national control centre in Tallaght and they direct us to calls and unfortunately, from the information they received, they sent us to three other locations first.”
When he arrived at the right quarry, half an hour after receiving the initial call, Jake Kenneally and Shay Moloney were both “still in the water”.
When asked by Louis Moloney, an uncle of Shay, if he had details of the conversations of the 999 calls made to the ambulance service, Mr West replied: “No... we have no contact with the caller... We only deal with the person in the control centre and we can only go where we are told to go.”
Mr West, who was the most senior paramedic at the scene, said he was “unhappy” with how matters had unfolded.
He said he initiated an internal investigation the following day. He told the hearing his superiors had later informed him that “we followed our policies and procedures, and so, no fault with the National Ambulance Service”.
Jack and Shay were taken by the Coast Guard rescue helicopter to hospital, where they were both pronounced dead shortly after 5pm.
Coroner John McNamara praised paramedics, firefighters, gardaí and friends of the boys for their “valiant” efforts in trying to save them.