Questions have been raised in the Dáil around the waiting times for ambulances locally.
Cavan/Monaghan TD Deputy Matt Carthy raised the recent incident were a young footballer with a fracture was left 3 hours on the pitch in Co Monaghan waiting for one to arrive.
Deputy Carthy highlighted to the Dail that the medical advice was that he should not be moved until an ambulance arrived which was 3 hours later. The local TD asked the Táinaiste how long will young children be expected to wait for ambulances next year pointing to the fact that it was unacceptable.
"Two weeks ago, a young boy was playing a football match in County Monaghan when he suffered a serious injury involving a complicated fracture. The medical advice was that he should not be moved until an ambulance arrived. It took three hours for the ambulance to arrive."
"In this week’s budget, the Government has underfunded our health service. How long will young children be expected to wait for ambulances next year? How many elderly will be left waiting in their homes for the emergency care they need? How does the Tánaiste stand over the Government’s record in allowing situations whereby people are obliged to wait hours on end for ambulances to become the new norm."
"That is very distressing for the young footballer and his family. I hope he is making a good recovery from his injuries. I am not aware of the background as to why the ambulance service took three hours to get to the particular location but there has been significant investment in the National Ambulance Service".
"There is no getting away from that, and it will continue. The most important aspect of that is the professionalisation of our whole paramedic area and the development of the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council, PHECC, in particular to really raise standards. This has happened over the past decade to a transformative degree, which is not often acknowledged".
"It is critical for any person who has an injury that the professional gets there as quickly as possible. Three hours is far too long to wait for an ambulance to come".
