Ambulance journey blocked by shut railway crossing
The patient, a grandmother being treated for breathing difficulties, had to guide the ambulance crew to hospital.
The 84-year-old woman had to remove an oxygen mask to assist the crew along country roads late at night.
The ordeal for the crew and the patient began after the railway gates were shut at 11.20pm.
The ambulance had passed through the crossing just minutes earlier.
The patient, Rachel English, said yesterday: “In my case it wasn’t a matter of life or death — but it could be for somebody else.”
Her local community, in the north Cork village of Ballyhea, have demanded a 24-hour manned level crossing on the rail track.
They warned that people living “on the wrong side of the tracks” fear for their lives in an emergency.
Locals claim that MsEnglish’s plight was one of a series of incidents involving the closure of the Iarnród Éireann crossing on the Kilfinane Road.
Ballyhea Community Council chairman Con Walsh said the forced detour taken by the ambulance, carrying Ms English, would delay her hospital arrival by 15 minutes.
“There are a couple of incidents like this every year and we’re very concerned that one of these days there will be serious consequences,” said Mr Walsh.
“I can’t understand why the Ballyhea level crossing isn’t manned around the clock because one at nearby Churchtown is and it has a smaller number of vehicles crossing it on a daily basis.”
It emerged an ambulance was tasked to Ballyhea after Ms English got a serious chest infection and suffered breathing problems.
The ambulance was able to get through the level crossing and pick her up but on its way back its path was blocked because the railway gates were closed for the night — which was Iarnród Éireann policy.
“I was very glad when the ambulance arrived, because it had oxygen on board. The ambulance was able to get through the crossing on its way to me but, on the way back, the gates were closed. They always close at 11.20pm. I had to pull off my oxygen mask a couple of times to guide them along other roads,” said Ms English.
“In my case it wasn’t a matter of life or death, but it could be for somebody else,” she said.
Iarnród Eireann, however, had planned to replace the level crossing in Ballyhea with a bridge but did not get approval from Cork County Council.
Mr Walsh said the rail company was intending to submit new plans but it could take more than a year to construct a bridge.
“In the meantime, we should have our level crossing manned on a 24-hour basis,” he demanded. “We are writing to Iarnród Éireann and the county council to try and get the matter resolved.”
A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said the company did not have the resources to man the crossing on a 24-hour basis but was still endeavouring to build a bridge across the railway line.
“It has been a difficult one to resolve. We want to eliminate as many level crossings as we can anyway in the interests of safety,” the spokesman added.
