999 calls queued as A&E units full

AMBULANCES in Dublin are being delayed responding to emergencies because of overcrowding in casualty wards, a union has claimed.

SIPTU said that the situation in the capital’s accident and emergency units means ambulance crews have to wait with patients until they are handed over to hospital staff for treatment.

As a result, 999 calls answered by the city’s 11 fire brigade ambulances are being placed in queues for response. “There are often times when all the ambulances are stuck in A&E units and calls are put on a queue basis. The control room then has to prioritise which cases should get an ambulance first,” said SIPTU Dublin Fire Brigade convenor Tony McDonnell.