Martin under fire over air ambulance study

A STUDY into a cross-border emergency helicopter service was criticised last night for its failure to identify the importance of giving immediate assistance to victims of accidents.

Fine Gael health spokesperson Olivia Mitchell said she found it “extraordinary” that the report did not recognise the importance of giving life-saving assistance such as that provided by “flying doctor” services.

At the same time, Health Minister Micheál Martin came under fire for his lukewarm reaction to the study, which has been broadly welcomed by emergency service professionals.

The study recommends that patients requiring specialist care be rapidly transferred between hospitals, rather than be given immediate assistance. This, according to Ms Mitchell, is the wrong approach.

“There has to be a commitment to an enhancement of the ambulance service. Speed is of the essence. It can make all the difference to the chance of survival if an accident victim is given immediate attention,” she said.

Dr Jerry Cowley, independent TD for Mayo, castigated the minister for his “unworthy response” to the report. Dr Cowley has been spearheading a campaign for an all-Ireland Helicopter Emergency Medical Service (HEMS) for over a decade.

Dr Cowley said: “Like Doubting Thomas, Minister Martin needed to get his hands on the report which would prove the case for HEMS. Now he has such a report, and no further excuse, and he should act like a responsible minister for health and institute the service now.”

Dr Cowley said the service could be up and running almost immediately. “We have excellent ground ambulance staff but ground ambulances can’t fly. Any further delay which is costing lives is unacceptable.”

The feasibility study was commissioned jointly by Mr Martin and his Northern Ireland counterpart Angela Smith.

The study concludes that an inter-hospital transfer service would be the most appropriate in an all-island context. The study indicates this would involve significant investment.

The estimated cost is €12m in capital, €4m annual operating costs for a single helicopter and over €3m operating costs for each additional helicopter.

Commenting on the report, Mr Martin said it was an important contribution to the debate on the future organisation of emergency medical services.

However, Mr Martin said he did not see helicopters as a substitute for the emergency ambulance service and while he would be “exploring options” in relation to the use of helicopters, he would continue to pursue additional investment in the ambulance service “as a priority”.