'My dad had a massive heart attack in Portlaoise GAA grounds' - Laois representative highlights ambulance delays

A Laois councillor who says his father's life was saved by a local ambulance, has called on a better service for the county, saying he speaks on behalf of concerned local paramedics.

Cllr Tommy Mulligan from the Portlaoise Municipal District is highlighting problems in the system operated by the National Ambulance Service, which sends ambulances on non-emergency duties, and can leave people in urgent need waiting on an ambulance coming from other counties.

"Paramedics are experiencing incredible frustration with their systems of work. Paramedics are a critical part of our community health service, and they provide our community with an invaluable service. Unfortunately, it appears there are serious shortcomings in the ambulance service in Laois," Cllr Mulligan told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

He recounts his own experience with his father John Mulligan who own steered Portlaoise GAA to Laois and Leinster Club Champship final wins.

"I have first-hand experience of the other side of chance. In July 2020 my dad had a massive heart attack out in Rathleague in Portlaoise GAA grounds. Fortunately, when the emergency services were called there was an ambulance in close proximity. The ambulance crew worked on my dad in Rathleague and then he was rushed to St James Hospital in Dublin as an emergency case where he received immediate attention. If an ambulance had not been available that day there is a good chance, he would not have survived," he said.

Cllr Mulligan with his family and supporters after his win at the Local Elections. 

He said that Laois has only one ambulance station despite continued population growth to 92,000, a quarter of them over 65. Offaly with a population of 83,000 has three stations.

"The present operation system appears to be a system of chance in Laois. An adequate ambulance service is essential for saving lives.

"There have been reported instances in recent times when the emergency services were required in Laois and surrounding areas and there was no ambulance in attendance for a considerable time.

"The people of Laois deserve an ambulance service we can have full confidence in and that will be available around the clock in the case of an emergency. The ambulance service staff deserve to have a working operation system that they believe in. It is important that their issues are addressed.

"Another station in Laois for Intermediate Care Vehicles would greatly benefit the county. These vehicles could be used for the non-life threatenening transfers of patients. Currently the emergency ambulances are carrying out these duties," he said.

Cllr Mulligan said that the dispatch protocol by the National Emergency Centre is to send the nearest Ambulance available at the time of call to all emergency calls, regardless of where their station or region might be.

"This method of dispatching is creating large areas, for periods of time, where the is no resource to respond within an acceptable range, meaning the closest Ambulance could be as far as 100km away thus having a negative impact on response times and patient outcomes," he claimed.

"Ambulance crews favour the older system where crews always responded to calls within an acceptable radius of their base which gave a better balance of resources and less chance of long distances between Ambulance and patient.

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"The National Emergency Operations Centre are mobilising ambulances within 90 seconds of a call coming in regardless of how far away the call is. The ambulance could be an hour away," he claimed. 

"This service is time critical. Delayed treatment/intervention results in poorer outcomes. This is putting the public at risk. I will be proposing a Notice of Motion at the March County Council Meeting calling on Laois County Council to request that the Minister for Health addresses the failures within the national ambulance service," Cllr Mulligan said.