Ambulances were over an hour late 47 times a month
New data also shows how performance suffered in pandemic
AMBULANCES turned up over an hour after they were first called to a lifethreatening event almost 50 times a month, according to the latest data.
In two cases, both in Co. Cork, the ambulance took over two hours to arrive; once because of the distance involved, the other after a road was blocked by fallen trees.
Detailed data from the National Ambulance Service (NAS) also reveals how response performance suffered during the wave of Covid-19 last Christmas.
Long delays were most common in Cork due to the size of the county, with one in six of the over one-hour-long waits recorded in the county.
The records, which cover the second half of last year, show there were 282 cases – or 47 a month – in which patients were left waiting at least an hour for an ambulance.
However, the National Ambulance Service said this only represents a small fraction of the 81,718 highest priority calls they received during that time.
A target response time of 19 minutes is set for callouts considered life-threatening, including the second-highest priority Delta-type calls that the emergency services receive.
Between July and December, the number of so-called Delta calls responded to within target timelines was 54%. But that rate fell in December to 47%, according to records released under Freedom of Information.
Top priority Echo calls – relating to life-threatening cardiac or respiratory arrest – also saw response rates fall in December, though less significantly. Across the six-month period, the 19-minute goal was met in 79% of Echo calls. However, in December the rate fell to 76%.
Of the 282 Delta calls not responded to within an hour, around three-quarters of them related simply to the ‘distance involved’, according to the data. There were also three cases where an ambulance had arrived but had to wait for Garda support before entering to treat the patient. Another 33 cases were logged where the first ambulance was stood down because a bigger emergency or ‘higher acuity’ call had come in. Twelve cases were listed involving both ‘higher acuity’ and distance, while there were four cases involving difficulties finding the location or address.
The log also lists two cases where the first allocated ambulance suffered a mechanical problem on route to the emergency, and two cases where the patient was either being transported from an island or a marine vessel.
Other reasons cited for late arrivals were being forced to drive slowly due to poor weather conditions (1), volume of work (5), hospital turnaround times (2), and refuelling requirements (1).
While the highest number of lengthy waits was in Cork, other counties also had a significant number of incidents involving 60minute plus waits.
Some 37 of these cases recorded in Wexford, 27 in Kerry, 26 in Waterford, and 17 in Galway.
Significant differences in response times were also apparent depending on the region of the country, the data showed.
For the most serious Echo calls, the worst response rates recorded in December as Covid took grip again were in the South East and in the Midlands. In both regions, 62.5% of calls were responded to within the target of 19 minutes.
Rates of response to Delta calls could be even lower with Dublin Fire Brigade – who handled many 999 calls in the capital – recording just 30.7% of such calls responded to within 19 minutes.
An information note from the NAS said: ‘There were no Echo calls over one hour for the period 1st July to 31st December 2020. The average time for Echo calls during this period was 12 minutes and 39 seconds.
‘The average time for Delta calls during the period was nineteen minutes and twenty-six seconds.
‘The longest Delta call was in Co. Cork. The call took two hours and 31 minutes… and is attributable to distance and fallen trees blocking the original route [which] required the crew to re-route to reach the location of the patient.’
‘Fallen trees blocking the route’