By Grace Hanna
On Thursday 31 October Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, announced an additional €8m funding boost for the National Ambulance Service (NAS) in 2025.
The funding, which is set to increase by €16m by 2026, will provide, specialist services, improved response times, expansion of service capacity and improved patient safety in relation to Ambulances.
Connemara Ambulance Crisis
“Of course, we welcome the €8m, but whether it’s sufficient i’m unsure,” said Patricia Keane, who established Connemara Ambulance Crisis advocacy group.
Patricia set up the Crisis Group in 2014, to fight for second ambulance to reach Connemara after seeing the long waiting times.
“The people of Leenane village had a Red Cross ambulance but the HSE wouldn’t allow them to transfer patients into Galway,” she explained.
Patricia’s particular motivation to start the group stemmed from an elderly lady in her village who had to wait for hours.
“There are numerous stories, where people were waiting up to four hours for an ambulance,” she recalled.
“There is another case of a woman in Letterfrack who gave birth in her car because the ambulances were too slow.”
“We’ve done everything we could, we went to Leinster house twice, advocated online and even brought it up at EU level.”
In 2021, Connemara received a second Ambulance and a rapid response vehicle in Clifden Hospital after seven years of campaigning.
Currently, Connemara Ambulance Crisis are waiting on an extra ambulance base in Recess village, Co Galway.
“We were promised this a couple of years ago, it was approved but the process is painfully slow,” Patricia explained.
Patricia also said that ambulance wait times are not just a Northwest and South Connemara problem. It is a “national problem which needs to be addressed.”
“So, back to the funding, we welcome it, but can’t help compare the €9m allocation to mobile phone pouches when the National Ambulance Service were given €8m to save lives.”
Political Reaction
Welcoming the funding, Connemara Councillor Thomas Welby said “It’s funding which is essential across the country, especially in rural areas.”
“Every citizen deserves a fast pick-up service, the first few minutes in every case is without a doubt crucial.’’
However, Councillor Welby said that although the utopia is that an ambulance is always close by, it isn’t always the case.
“There are areas in Connemara which have fallen into a black spots such as the village of Leenane and Clonbur”, he explained.
“As they are closer to the Mayo Border, there have been some fairly bad cases over the years.”