Patients left waiting due to ambulance dispatch model

COMMUNITIES in East Galway are being left without ambulance cover for extended periods due to them being deployed in the city, the September meeting of the Regional Health Forum West was told.

Ballinasloe Cllr Alan Harney warned that rural communities across East Galway and Roscommon face the risk of losing lives due to the way ambulances are dispatched.

Under the current deployment model, ambulances travelling to certain hospitals can be dispatched to various locations, irrespective of their town or county of origin.

Highlighting a recent experience by one of his relatives who fell at home and had to wait for an ambulance for 90 minutes, Cllr Harney said that a wait of 90 minutes for something that is only ten minutes away is not “good enough”.

He said that with more patients being brought to University Hospital Galway, the redeployment of these ambulances is “causing a major challenge” and leaving patients in East Galway vulnerable for hours.

Cllr Harney is concerned that the situation could have serious consequences. “I have a real concern that lives are going to be lost because ambulances based in Ballinasloe are being redeployed within Galway,” said Cllr Harney.

General Manager for the National Ambulance Service Brendan McGovern echoed Cllr Harney’s sentiments and agreed that the service is “under-resourced nationally”.

“We are looking for additional funding in many stations across the area including in East Galway,” said Mr McGovern.

Cllr Harney has also written to the Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to highlight the vital issue.