Ambulance service capacity
Deputy Cairns said the National Ambulance Service was dangerously under-resourced, especially in rural areas such as west Cork, and asked for a 24/7 RRV. The Taoiseach said more vehicles, bases and paramedics were being provided and would raise the request with the Health Minister.
The National Ambulance Service has been under-resourced and overstretched for years. We have an insufficient number of operational vehicles and paramedics are being forced to work dangerously long shifts due to staff shortages. It is no exaggeration to say that it is costing lives.
This issue has a particular impact on rural populations. I have constituents in west Cork who are fearful of what will happen in an emergency situation given that they live so far away from a hospital. A major issue is that the ambulances are assigned according to population rather than population and the geographical spread of an area. Places like Cork South-West are spread over a huge geographical area and people are put at risk under this policy. There needs to be a significant increase in investment in the ambulance service. Currently, west Cork is assigned one rapid response vehicle, RRV, and that is only for 12 hours out of 24. At the very least, we need a 24-hour cover rapid response vehicle as well as additional vehicles and staff.
Comment on this
I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this important matter. As she knows, we are investing in the ambulance service all the time, with more vehicles, more bases and more paramedics. I acknowledge that we have to take into account both population and population density. A rural area needs more ambulances than an urban one, or at least we need to take into account both population and geography for reasons we both understand. I will mention to the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, the request for a 24-7 RRV.