Emergency helicopter for babies won’t be 24-hour service

PLANNED expansion of an emergency helicopter service to transport seriously-ill babies will not provide 24-hour cover, despite calls from doctors to do so.

The service, which transports infants up to six weeks’ old to major hospitals for specialised treatment, currently only fields calls between 9am and 5pm.

Dr John Murphy, based at the National Maternity Hospital’s neonatal unit in Holles Street, Dublin, said the National Neonatal Transport Service could be extended with minimal funding. However, a doubling of staff would be necessary, he told the Irish Medical Times. Dr Murphy said the NNTS could be modelled on the Scottish service. “The Scottish system suits us well. Scotland is a lot like Ireland - a large country with very long distances to travel, not a very big population but a scattered population,” he said.

Although many babies are transported by the NNTS after hours, medical experts have long felt the NNTP should be contactable 24 hours a day.

NNTP co-ordinator Ann Bowden said the contact hours would be increased in the coming months.

“We won’t be going to 24 hours in the near future, but we are hoping to go to 10 hours shortly,” she said.

The service is provided by the Coombe; the National Maternity, and the Rotunda hospitals in Dublin, each of which is on call for one week at a time on a rotational basis.

The Eastern Regional Ambulance Service (ERAS), which is based at St James’s Hospital, oversees the transport.

Ms Bowden said there was “red tape surrounding the staff ceiling for the ambulance service”, while rostering doctors was also an issue.

“Basically, it’s staffing levels. It will happen; it’s just a question of logistics,” she added.

The NNTP has written to Defence Minister Michael Smith asking him to ensure that aircraft will continue to be available to it.

The Air Corps made adjustments to its Dauphin helicopters to cater for the NNTP. It’s thought there have been eight airlifts this year.

But the Dauphin fleet will shortly be phased out, leading to concerns that suitably-equipped aircraft might not be available to the NNTP during the replacement period.

Ms Bowden said the NNTP had written to Mr Smith asking him to lease a suitable aircraft if such a situation arose.