Ambulance protester surge ‘meaningful’ talks

Campaigners fighting to retain their region’s ambulance service have called on the HSE to engage in “meaningful” talks in a bid to ease concerns.

The West Cork SOS group said it is not opposed to the HSE’s plans to change from an on-call to an on-duty system for paramedics in the region.

But it said it will resist any attempts under the reconfiguration to reduce the size of the region’s ambulance fleet from four vehicles to three.

The group fears the Skibbereen ambulance will be replaced with a rapid response vehicle.

The call for talks came as the group completed an 85km, four-day stretcher push from Skibbereen to Cork University Hospital on Saturday.

About 80 people joined the core group of 10 which marched every day, led by George Vladisavljevic, on the final leg from Bishopstown to the hospital.

They arrived at the hospital’s emergency department where a letter addressed to the HSE South area manager, Ger Reaney, was accepted by CUH nurse manager Mary Forde and the hospital’s bed manager, Margaret McInerney.

The HSE declined to comment on the protest.

West Cork SOS chairman Frank Fahy said that the ambulance reconfiguration plans do not take account of the geographic diversity of the West Cork region, which includes seven inhabited islands and three peninsulas.

“To reduce the number of ambulances will inevitably lead to further complications in time-critical illnesses and injuries, their timely transportation to suitable medical facilities, and may lead to needless deaths in the area,” said Mr Fahy.

Replacing the region’s fourth ambulance — based in Skibbereen — with a rapid response vehicle would be a disaster not just for the town but for the Mizen peninsula, he said.

He said his group is willing to meet the HSE and representatives of the National Ambulance Service “at any time and at any venue” to explore ways to retain the fourth ambulance.

Mayor of Skibbereen, Karen Coakley, who walked the last two days of the protest, said the four mayors of West Cork are behind the campaign.

“We need our ambulance. That’s the bottom line,” she said. “That’s why we’re here to protest. We want our ambulance, and nothing else will do.

“We’re handing in our letter now and we’ll wait for the reaction.”

The on-duty system, which sees a mix of ambulances and rapid response vehicles deployed where they are needed rather than statically deployed at ambulance bases, has been introduced in East Cork.

The HSE expects to complete an evaluation of how it is working by the end of November, before it is rolled out in North Cork.

In a statement, the HSE said this review would inform the proposed changes in West Cork.

“The HSE recognises the remote, rural location of West Cork and the proposed changes will be designed to suit the needs of this population,” a spokesperson said.