Private ambulances drafted in by HSE due to staffing crisis

The chairman of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association called for people to be patient with ambulance service personnel despite possible delays over the coming days and weeks

Staff shortages may now be a bigger threat to patients and the health service than Omicron, the owner of the country’s largest private ambulance service has said.

David Hall said that ambulances and paramedics from his company Lifeline Ambulance Services have been drafted in by the HSE to help plug the growing gap in the National Ambulance Service (NAS) as increasing numbers of people have been off work due to Covid-19.

The NAS moved to level-three surge capacity due to staff shortages this week. 

Level four is the highest staff emergency level and Mr Hall predicts that it may reach that point sometime next week.

“It’s unprecedented. [Thursday] was the first time in 20 years I got a call from the National Ambulance Service to do an ambulance call,” he said.

“This is a very serious, a very dangerous and a very sensitive time for everybody.

“If you reduce staff from a hospital, you get into unsafe territory, and the same with the ambulance, you don’t have adequate staff to respond to emergencies. And that’s where the risk becomes greater than the risk from Covid.

"I think we’re in dangerous territory now. What’s being seen by a few is not being seen by everyone yet.

"All the various parties are doing their best to protect patients at the moment. But we are in unchartered waters now."

Brendan Flynn, chairman of the National Ambulance Service Representative Association called for people to be patient with ambulance service personnel despite possible delays over the coming days and weeks as they work with limited resources.

“We’re grossly understaffed," Mr Flynn said.

The pressure on ambulance personnel is immense. Crews are often going without breaks, some have had no holidays, they’re sometimes working three, four hours extra.

“We would appeal to people to be patient with ambulance crews. Unfortunately, there are going to be delays. It’s a historic resourcing issue that can’t be fixed over night. The ambulance crews are prioritising the emergency, high acuity calls.” 

Mr Flynn also called for people who were not in acute medical distress to find “alternative pathways” in medical emergencies.

He said that anyone with symptoms of a heart attack or stroke, chest pain or breathing difficulty must call an ambulance immediately.

But those with less life-threatening emergencies, like an injured arm, should make their own way to hospital or to their GP if they could get an appointment there instead.

Siptu and the Irish Ambulance Representative Council also expressed concerns about NAS staffing levels.

Siptu ambulance sector organiser, Ted Kenny said: “Our members are working night and day to alleviate the pressure on the service and it is vital that the public do all they can to support them.

"The NAS has four levels of surge escalation. We are now at level three which is quite rare. Nobody wants to go to level four. The HSE must do all it can to prevent that from happening. 

The shortfall in capacity is stark and while the HSE can utilise external providers, like the army, fire service, voluntary and private services to help plug the gaps and fill the shortfalls in the immediate term, this is not a long-term solution.

A response from the HSE said that the NAS has a surge plan in place to safeguard patient safety.  

In response to demand which exceeds capacity, NAS escalated its surge response to level three, which includes seeking support from external service providers, the HSE said.

"NAS are asking the public to help us help you by considering all care options available and only call 999 if it is an emergency,” the HSE said. 

Some 3,800 HSE staff were absent from work due to Covid on the last count which was the week before Christmas. That figure is expected to grow.