Call for rescue helicopter to airlift seriously ill patients from remote areas of West Cork to CUH

Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy said many did not realise how far away some West Cork people are from critical care in CUH.

Talks are to take place between State agencies aimed at getting the Rescue 115 helicopter based in Shannon involved in more airlifts of seriously ill patients to Cork University Hospital from the three West Cork peninsulas and seven islands in the region.

Cork County Council is to discuss the potential move with the HSE, the Department of Transport and representatives from the Islands Inter Agency Committee amid concerns ambulances are taking far too long to get emergency cases to CUH, potentially putting lives at risk.

The recent opening of a helipad at CUH has prompted councillors from West Cork to call for the move, especially as the air ambulance based in Rathcoole in North Cork does not have the technology for night flying, which Rescue 115 does.

Independent councillor Finbarr Harrington, who lives on one of the peninsulas, got unanimous support from colleagues when he asked for the move.

Mr Harrington said Rescue 115 had been used before for medivacs in his region.

“There is provision for district nurses who live on a couple of the islands to use an emergency number to contact Rescue 115 and I know of cases when the helicopter has responded to such calls in the past,” he said.

Mr Harrington added if there was provision for district nurses to call in that response, he could not see why other experts like GPs and paramedics could not feed into the same emergency call-out system.

Fianna Fáil councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy said many did not realise how far away some West Cork people are from critical care in CUH.

He described how in 1993 following a car crash in Eyeries, which left him in a wheelchair, it took almost four hours for an ambulance to get him to CUH.

“I was then airlifted from there to the Mater in Dublin and that took only around three quarters of an hour. If you were living in Glanmire and needed emergency treatment you would be in a hospital in Tallaght, Dublin, quicker than you’d make it to CUH from some parts of the West Cork region,” Mr Murphy said.

“The GPs and paramedics would know how serious a situation is. They have the expertise and should be able to directly contact the helicopter for emergency situations,” he added.

Mr Harrington said while he was well aware the Rescue 115 helicopters were primarily used for search and rescue operations off the coast, if they were not doing such valuable work at the time they should be on standby for critical calls in the West Cork peripheries and island.

“It would provide great assurance for people living in these areas that in case of an emergency they can be speedily airlifted to CUH,” he added.

Fine Gael councillor Noel O’Callaghan said Mr Harrington’s motion was seriously important and had to be followed up.

“It’s literally a life and death situation,” he added.

Council senior executive officer Noreen O’Mahony said she would first ask the Islands Inter Agency Committee to provide its views on the matter when its members meet on Friday, February 14.

She added she would then contact the Department of Health and the HSE for follow-up talks on Mr Harrington’s proposal.