HSE responds to criticism over ambulance delay
Sinn Féin Cllr Toiréasa Ferris said it should not have taken an ambulance that length of time to respond to an emergency callout to the accident at Tubrid, Ardfert, on Friday night. The car involved was on a recovery truck when the ambulance arrived, she said. “I was shocked to hear these reports. This area is only 10 minutes from Tralee.”
She claimed that there had been nothing but problems since the ambulance call centre in Co Kerry was closed and moved to Dublin earlier this year.
A HSE spokesman confirmed yesterday that the ambulance service received a 999/112 call at 5.05pm on Friday, from gardaí, following the accident.
He said an emergency ambulance was dispatched from Killarney and arrived on scene at 5.48pm. All other emergency resources in Tralee and Listowel were involved in other emergency activity at the time and the patient was brought to Cork University Hospital for treatment.
He said that the National Ambulance Service works on an area and national basis to ensure there is sufficient regional coverage at all times.
He also said an advanced Medical Priority Dispatch System was in operation.
