HSE launches probe over delay in ambulance response to call
It is the second investigation launched by the Health Service Executive (HSE) Southern Area into the ambulance service in Kerry in just over a month.
The latest probe, being led by the chief ambulance officer and senior HSE management, will focus on an incident that occurred in Tralee on Sunday.
An emergency call for an ambulance was made through the 999 system at 5.29pm after a man with epilepsy suffered a seizure in the Tralee area.
An Eircom operator tried to re-direct the call to the ambulance control centre on the grounds of Kerry General Hospital in Tralee, but couldnât make contact.
Ambulance control centres are supposed to be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The operator decided to forward the call to the next nearest ambulance control centre at Cork University Hospital. Staff there logged the details of the emergency and they, in turn, tried to contact the Tralee centre.
After a number of unsuccessful attempts, contact was eventually made and an ambulance was dispatched.
But 19 minutes had elapsed since the emergency call was first made from Tralee, it emerged yesterday.
The patient eventually arrived at Kerry General Hospital at 6.17pm, was treated in A&E and was later discharged. The seizure proved to be not serious.
However, it was not clear yesterday whether human error or a technical fault was to blame for the delay in responding to the call.
A spokeswoman for the HSE declined to discuss the specifics of the incident and said a full investigation was under way. She also declined to say whether the results of the probe would be made public.
Last month, the HSE launched an investigation after a man who had made an emergency call for an ambulance in the Killarney area on October 6 was found dead several hours later. An ambulance had been dispatched but it is believed to have called to another house nearby.
The HSE spokeswoman said yesterday that the investigation into that incident was at an advanced stage. It was not clear when it would be completed.
The HSE Southern Area ambulance service deals with more than 51,000 calls or journeys each year.
Almost half of those are emergency 999 calls. Last year, 5,100 of those 999 calls were in Kerry.
