HSE admits ambulance ran out of fuel

An ambulance ran out of fuel while transferring a transplant patient from Cork to Dublin for an urgent lung transplant, a report has confirmed.

The revelation prompted calls last night from the Irish Heart and Lung Transplant Association (IHLTA) for “cast-iron guarantees” from the HSE that a similar incident can never happen again.

Brendan Gilligan, IHLTA chairman, said the association was alarmed when news of the incident first emerged last month.

“It certainly sounded alarm bells,” he said.

“The patient involved in this case was extremely fortunate that the ambulance had a Garda escort which completed the transfer. Otherwise this could have been much more serious.

“We would like to see the full investigation to establish what was the cause of the ambulance running out of fuel. Was it an oversight on the part of the driver, or someone in a depot?”

The incident — which occurred on the M8 on the outskirts of the capital on the evening of Sept 19 — triggered an investigation by the National Ambulance Service.

It was reported at the time that the ambulance had either run out of fuel, had been crippled by a fault in its fuel lines, had a faulty fuel gauge or had experienced an engine breakdown.

But the Irish Examiner has learned that following an initial inspection of the vehicle, no mechanical faults were identified.

In response to queries from this newspaper, the HSE issued a statement confirming the vehicle’s fuel tanks ran dry.

“The HSE National Ambulance Service can confirm that the review in question is completed and that the ambulance did run out of fuel,” it read. “The National Ambulance Service is taking proactive measures to ensure it does not happen again.”

The HSE did not specify what those “proactive measures” might be.

The patient received a call on the afternoon of Thursday, Sept 19, to report to the national heart and lung transplant centre at the Mater Hospital to undergo a lung transplant operation.

The patient was collected from a hospital in the south and was transported, under Garda escort, along the M8 to Dublin.

However, the ambulance ground to a halt near Newland’s Cross, forcing the paramedics to pull over to the side of the motorway.

Gardaí performing the escort transported the patient to hospital where the transplant was completed successfully.

Mr Gilligan said he understands that this was the first time an ambulance involved in a transplant patient transfer ran out of fuel. “But it’s one time too many.

“The people on transplant waiting lists need assurances from the HSE that if they are to be transported by ambulance again, that this kind of incident isn’t repeated.”

The patient is understood to be recovering well at his home.

The Mater’s transplant team have completed 24 lung transplants so far this year.