‘Ambulance service behaving like a republic’

A junior minister has claimed the HSE was using industrial relations as a “a bit of a smokescreen” to defer dealing with concerns over its plans to restructure the ambulance service in East Cork.

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Seán Sherlock also accused the national ambulance service of “behaving like a little republic” over the issue.

The Labour TD, who serves the Cork East constituency, made the comments at a public meeting in Youghal where over 200 people rejected HSE proposals to downgrade the local ambulance service.

It is envisaged the service will be replaced by a roaming “first responder” vehicle and an “intermediate care vehicle” for non-emergency duties, while two ambulances, based in Midleton and Fermoy, would answer emergency calls from the responder paramedics.

Although there was general acceptance, locally, that some change was inevitable, there was anger at the HSE’s intent on implementing a new untested service.

A presentation by the Save Youghal Ambulance (SYA) group raised concerns about the lack of centralised control of the reformed service, the lack of an efficient GPS system and an inadequate number of advanced para- medics.

A letter to the SYA from director of the National Ambulance Service, Robert Morton, said the HSE’s immediate focus is on addressing the industrial relations aspect of the changes, along with “a legal challenge from a private ambulance company seeking an injunction against the HSE recruiting additional staff”. There would be no changes in the meantime, it concluded.

Mr Sherlock labelled the sentiments “a bit of a smokescreen” and a mechanism to excuse difficulties.

He said: “The logical approach would be to adapt the new service in parallel with the existing one.”