THE HEALTH Service Executive yesterday moved to reassure people that proposed changes in ambulance arrangements in Cork and Kerry will lead to a better service for the public. This came amid fears reorganisation will lead to a downgrading in some areas.Robert Morton, director of the HSE National Ambulance Service, said the move from the system of on-duty and on-call to a system where staff will be rostered solely on an on-duty basis will result in an improved service.
Mr Morton said the change to solely an on-duty system would lead to quicker response times as ambulance staff would be with their vehicle when a call came in, unlike the on-call system where staff may be at home and have to report to their place of work to respond.
Currently in west Cork, when an on-call crew is responding to an emergency between 8pm and 8am Monday to Thursday, it takes 27 minutes to get on the road. Under the on-duty system, a paramedic already working would be able to respond faster, Mr Morton said. The changes are due to be introduced in January on a phased basis.
He was speaking at a press briefing following recent protests in Castletownbere and Skibbereen in west Cork and Youghal in east Cork where locals are campaigning against cutbacks in the ambulance services.
He said it was wrong to suggest the HSE was closing 24-hour ambulance bases in the three towns as the existing ambulances in each town operate on an on-call basis from 8pm to 8am whereas under the new arrangements, there would be 24-hour on-duty cover all over the county.
Some 60 per cent of ambulance call-outs are inter-hospital transfers and 6 per cent are GP-initiated call-outs while 33 per cent are in response to 999 calls, of which only 1.5 to 2 per cent are dealing with life-threatening situations, Mr Morton said.
There are 15 ambulances working in Cork and Kerry but under the reorganisation the number of response vehicles will rise to 19 of which 13 will be ambulances and six will be response vehicles with a paramedic.
Plans are also in train to close the control centres in Cork and Kerry with the service instead linking into the national control centre with the 21 staff employed in the local control centres being redeployed as operational staff to bring the number in the region up to 171, he said.
Mr Morton said it costs some €16 million to operate the ambulance service in Cork and Kerry with 84 per cent of this going on wages.
