Fire brigade not sole provider of ambulances
Firstly, Mr Kinsella is incorrect in his assertion that Dublin City Fire Brigade is the sole provider of ambulances for the Dublin area.
The Health Service Executive, under the auspices of the Eastern Region Ambulance Service (ERAS), has statutory responsibility for the provision of ambulance services in the eastern region which encompasses Wicklow, Kildare and Dublin.
Indeed the ambulance service provided by Dublin fire brigade is done on behalf of the ERAS.
As for Mr Kinsella’s contention that there are only 11 ambulances to serve the population of Dublin city and county, ERAS has 63 vehicles in its fleet which are available to, and regularly do, respond to calls within the Dublin area.
Finally, as a rule, as soon as ambulances arrive at hospitals, patients are quickly transferred inside for appropriate treatment and do not spend hours waiting in the back of ambulances, as maintained by Mr Kinsella
The ERAS works closely with hospital authorities to ensure that any delays in patient transfer which do occur are kept to a minimum.
Pat McCreanor
Chief Ambulance Officer
Eastern Region Ambulance Service
Phoenix Hall
Phoenix Park
Dublin 20
