Review gets private ambulance firm barred

A LEADING private ambulance firm has effectively been barred from operating in Ireland after a string of staff competency, Garda vetting and re-training concerns were uncovered.

The Irish Examiner has learned Needford Limited has seen its connection to the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) severed as a direct result of problems revealed by a major review of the sector.

In April, the statutory body oversaw the first-ever national examination of standards among Ireland’s seven private ambulance firms.

These companies are regularly called on to plug gaps in the HSE’s hospital, nursing home and emergency response services, and to provide emergency care and transport services for public events and nursing homes.

The confidential document, seen by the Irish Examiner, found that almost all were failing to reach training and security standards such as:

* Ensuring staff were vetted by gardaí before working with the public.

* Guaranteeing workers had up-to-date cardiac first response certificates.

* Checking that staff who are not fluent English speakers had competent communication skills.

Six of the firms have since taken action to address the issues raised.

However, according to PHECC, Needford did not respond to the requests for service improvements, resulting in the company having its connection to the statutory body revoked at the start of the month.

As insurance firms will only provide coverage to private ambulance companies which adhere to PHECC’s guidelines and the HSE will only use operators with insurance, the move effectively means Needford has been struck off the system.

The PHECC private ambulance move came almost 18 months after the head of a leading firm warned patients are being put at risk due to the lack of a full licensing system for the sector.

David Hall, Lifeline Ambulance Service managing director and a former PHECC member, said at the time that state and private event contracts were regularly awarded to companies based on cost levels instead of safety standards.

He further claimed that without a full licensing system, a private firm could set up an ambulance company immediately despite having no paramedics and little if any medical equipment.

In addition to the private ambulance review, a full examination of state, voluntary and auxiliary emergency service fleets – including those in the HSE and fire brigade sectors – is also planned for early next year.

The review will be the first-ever conducted in the sectors in Ireland.