Central ambulance dispatch system ‘is leading to delays’

By Eilís Ryan

An Athlone ambulance that clocked up 600 kilometres in a single day has become a symbol of what local councillors say is a dangerously overstretched and badly designed emergency response system in the Midlands.

Speaking at the January meeting of Westmeath County Council, Cllr John Dolan described how, some years back, a crew based in Athlone started their shift with a call to Tullamore, were then diverted to another case in Portlaoise, and eventually ended up crossing the Dublin Mountains before the day was done.

“That ambulance should have been on call in Athlone, but it ended up going across the Dublin mountains. That day they drove 600 kilometres,” he said.

“When the system works, it’s life‑saving. When it doesn’t work, it’s a disaster.”

Cllr Dolan – who credited the ambulance service with saving his life when he suffered a cardiac arrest in 2017 – said the reality of the current centralised dispatch model is that entire areas can be left without local cover for long stretches.

“There’s three or four ambulances based in Athlone and more in Mullingar, Birr and Ballinasloe,” he said, “but I’ve seen ambulances coming to my area from Roscommon and Ballinasloe because there was no ambulance in Athlone.”

He recalled a Thursday night in Athlone, with a large student population in town, when only one ambulance was on call — pointing out that even that unit could be sent to Mullingar to cover for a vehicle deployed elsewhere. “The system needs to be fixed because people are dying,” he warned.

The debate was prompted by a motion from Cllr Denis Leonard, backed unanimously by members, calling on the HSE to carry out an immediate review of the National Ambulance Service centralised dispatch model and to provide a significant enhancement of cover in Westmeath, particularly within the crucial “golden hour” after serious medical emergencies.

Cllr Leonard said the skill of the “fantastic” ambulance staff had saved many lives, but their efforts were being undermined by how the service is now organised, stating that when a call is made for an ambulance, it may wind up coming from as far away as Ballinasloe, Navan, Portlaoise or Cavan.

Cllr Leonard’s motion came on foot of a letter from a Mullingar constituent, living just five minutes from the hospital. The family waited an hour for an ambulance for their mother, who tragically died as her daughter was performing CPR. The daughter, who pursued the matter with the National Ambulance Service, maintained that her experience “is not an isolated incident”.

He also shared a personal family experience from three months ago, when a relative in her nineties broke her hip and was brought to Mullingar. When it was decided to move her to Tullamore, it took seven hours for an ambulance transfer.

Cllr Vinny McCormack said that while there was “huge merit” in a centralised approach, it would only work with sufficient resources. He cautioned against over‑romanticising the past, saying there had been long delays under previous systems also.

Cllr Mick Dollard pointed to the presence of the National Ambulance Service headquarters at Pettitswood in Mullingar, and said councillors “owe it to our constituents” to find out precisely what the current arrangements are.

Cllr Tom Farrell fully supported the motion and said that, as a member of the HSE forum, he and Cllr Frankie Keena would raise the matter at the forum's February meeting in Tullamore.

According to Cllr Liam McDaniel it was “beyond belief” that in a county like Westmeath — where no one is more than roughly 15 kilometres from a hospital— a person could still wait an hour for an ambulance.

Westmeath County Council chief executive Barry Kehoe confirmed that the council would write to the HSE as requested, copying Oireachtas members. Members also agreed to request that the HSE and the National Ambulance Service attend the chamber.

Cllr Frankie Keena suggested examining whether Westmeath’s fire service could also train personnel as paramedics, similar to the model in Dublin where fire crews provide frontline medical assistance. “If they can do it in Dublin, why can’t we do it here in Westmeath?” he asked.

Mr Kehoe responded that fire services operate differently outside Dublin, but said he would explore whether training for paramedic qualification might be feasible in future.

“We need to be careful and clear about the services we can provide,” said Mr Kehoe. “But it’s something I’ll take away and look into.”