North Wexford TD Fionntán O’Suilleabháin is sounding the alarm about the ongoing ambulance crisis in North Wexford and South Wicklow. Speaking on Morning Mix he said there are troubling delays in ambulance response times, with some residents facing long waits, including one case where a person tragically passed away while waiting for an ambulance.
The TD also shared other concerning stories, like a mother who had to deliver her baby in the back of an ambulance after waiting for over two hours.
Mr O’Suilleabhán pointed to staff shortages as a major factor, with many advanced paramedics leaving the service due to burnout. He is calling for increased funding for the National Ambulance Service to help improve staffing levels and ensure quicker response times. This includes funding to increase the number of paramedics in training and to protect vital services like the helicopter emergency teams (HEMS).
We’re calling for a funding to fund the National Ambulance Service to deliver a rapid increase in the number of paramedics in training, and to deliver on a National Ambulance Service Workforce Plan, safely staff the ambulance service, because it’s at breaking point at the moment. The ambulance unions are trying to sort things out. They have what’s called a role and responsibility review. All of this needs to be looked at. So, basically, we’re asking the government to look at the overall, to engage with the unions on this, and to look at the overall service”
Responding was National Ambulance Service Officer Ger Carthy who said, “It’s a very high octane job. The demands are ever increasing. They’re doing long shifts, you know, 12-hour duties. And that’s the nature of the job. If we had more staff, more vehicles, that is the pressure. And there is a lot of burnout. And indeed, recruitment is a key issue.”
