Anger over ambulance delay

A 75 year old woman who collapsed in Ferndale, Navan on Friday evening, was left lying on the ground for 35 minutes waiting for an ambulance to arrive.
The National Ambulance service confirmed this week that there was a 35 minutes wait for an ambulance, as the vehicle had to come from Virginia.
Cllr Wayne Forde has called on the HSE and the ambulance service to immediately reverse cutbacks to frontline emergency cover in Meath, which he said was compromising patient care and safety.
He said the woman who collapsed in Ferndale last Friday had to wait 35 minutes lying on the ground.
“This is wholly unacceptable in this day and age and is inhumane. It is only a matter of time before a life is lost when a patient is waiting for an ambulance in the Meath area. I am calling for action now before the inevitable happens,” he said.
Cllr Forde said he was extremely concerned for patient care and safety Meath.
He said that Meath is down 33 per cent in emergency ambulances on a Tuesday and a Friday.
“There are normally three emergency ambulances in the Meath area each day, but the HSE in their wisdom decided to cut services in Meath,” he said.
Cllr Forde pointed out that on Tuesdays and Fridays there are only two ambulances on duty in Meath.
“On a Tuesday there is no day crew in Dunshaughlin, and on a Friday there is one day crew in Navan. This is compromising patient care. I am calling on the HSE and the government to reverse these cutbacks immediately and have three ambulances in Meath, two in Navan and one in Dunshaughlin every Tuesday and Friday,” he said.
He said the one ambulance that was on duty in Navan last Friday was bringing a patient to a Dublin hospital when the woman collapsed.
Cllr Forde said he was seeking a meeting with the new Health Minister, Simon Harris to discuss his concerns for emergency ambulance cover in the Meath area as well as the proposed closure of the 24/7 psychiatric unit in Navan.  
In a letter from the National Ambulance Service to Cllr Forde on Monday it was confirmed that a 999 call was made at 16.56 on Friday.
“The call was triaged using the recognised protocol and standards of the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System in accordance with internationally recognised standards,” according to the letter.
The letter stated at the time the call was received a number of ambulances were involved in other emergencies and the nearest available ambulance was dispatched from Virginia and arrived at the scene at 17.31pm.
The woman received emergency care at the scene and was taken to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan where she arrived at 17.55.
The Save Navan Hospital Campaign Cathaoirleach Peadar Tóibín said that three years ago this region was plagued with an ambulance service that was breaking down.
“Indeed in one year over 40 examples of late ambulances were reported to me. In seven of these cases there were fatalities.
“The Save Navan Hospital Campaign worked hard on this issue then and some improvement was experienced. “However its clear that the number of cases are starting to increase again. This is a dangerous turn of events and its not tolerable.
“We have, as a campaign, sought a meeting with the CEO of the Ireland East group Mary Day and we will use this opportunity to seek the required investment,” he said.