Ambulance service vows to restore confidence after death

The National Ambulance Service (NAS) has pledged to restore publilc confidence in the system after a review found a 999 call taker did not follow protocol which resulted in an ambulance not being sent to help a dying toddler.

The tragedy has also prompted the introduction of a standby translation service to help staff at the country’s six command and control ambulance centres deal with callers who do not speak English.

The move was confirmed yesterday at the publication of a long-awaited review into the handling of a 999 call, which was triggered following the death of 2-year-old Vakaris Martinaitis, through injuries sustained in a fall from an upstairs window at his home in Midleton, Co Cork, last May.