NAS to address service shortfall
HOPES FOR 24/7 AMBULANCE COVER APPROVAL
ARKLOW and West Wicklow are moving closer to getting a seven day ambulance service as it is set to be addressed in the upcoming National Ambulance Service (NAS) National Service Plan.
At present the service runs for 6.5 days each week leaving a shortfall of a half day every Tuesday in Arklow and of a 12 hour shift from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Mondays in Baltinglass.
During these times, cover is provided by neighbouring stations.
This prompted outrage earlier in the year when it was revealed that an ambulance from the Arklow area was unavailable to attend a patient who had collapsed across from the local ambulance depot.
According to Pat Casey TD, the ‘two-tier ambulance service’ which has been in place since 2012 is to soon be addressed as the National Service Plan is due for publication.
Following a series of parliamentary questions and actions by Deputy Casey in relation to the issue, Minister for Health Simon Harris confirmed to the Laragh Deputy that following a national review of services that he expected the National Ambulance Service to address this imbalance in their national service plan which is due in the coming weeks.
During the exchange, Deputy Casey referred to the incident in Arklow across from the ambulance depot and a separate incident during which an air ambulance was tasked to ferry a person with a broken leg from match at an Arklow sports field.
Welcoming the news that the matter is to be addressed, Deputy Casey praised the excellent work being carried out by the 22 First Responders Groups in Wicklow but said that this is no substitute for equal and full ambulance cover for Arklow and West Wicklow.
‘The two tier ambulance service operating at the moment must end and while I welcome that Minister Harris agrees that levels currently operating are indeed imbalanced I will await the national service plan to ensure that ambulance cover is provided on a 7 day a week basis in both Arklow and Baltinglass,’ he said.
Attempts to contact Minister Harris were unsuccessful.