Ambulances unavailable for Leitrim emergencies

Concerns have been raised about the ambulance service for people in south Leitrim after a stroke victim had to wait an hour and 20 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.
Leitrim ambulances are being pulled too far away from south Leitrim and "are not available here when needed", said a county councillor at a recent meeting.
The issue came to light after Cllr Brendan Barry put forward a motion asking that the Ballinamore municipal district call on the HSE and ambulance service to provide more ambulances in the area. Earlier this month, he said that a person in Drumshanbo suffered a stroke (a clot on the left side of their brain ) and "was trained and knew it was a stroke and this was communicated to emergency services. Yet, it took one hour and twenty minutes for the Carrick on Shannon ambulance to arrive from Mullingar."
This issue has been raised several times at council level and Cllr Barry stated that "we will have to keep raising it until we get results."
He said while the ambulance was called quickly, it took nearly an hour and a half to arrive.

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He continued: "The ambulance crew were based in Carrick-on-Shannon but when they got the call, they were in Mullingar trying to get a patient into the hospital. On many other occasions the ambulance has ended up down in Tullamore, Dublin and right around the country and it's taking ambulance crews up to five and six hours, maybe longer, sitting outside a hospital trying to get a patient into the hospital."
He said that he wanted to see more available ambulances in both Leitrim and the surrounding areas to "try and stop crews being pulled out of this area so that they are here for people when they need them."
Cllr Paddy O'Rourke said that all the councillors supported the motion adding that "back -up" resources such as air ambulances are for "life threatening situations and it's not the answer but it's the one that is frequently given."
Cllr Gary Prior stated that he has "repeatedly called for an ambulance base in the Ballinamore area at the health board care unit in the town and I think it would be a huge benefit to the south Leitrim area."
He said that it can take up to an hour and a half for an ambulance to arrive and "if it wasn't for the good will of the local Community First Responders (CFRs), there would be a lot of people in dire straits in the south Leitrim area."
Cllr Barry said there is a small "window for a person who has a stroke during which they need to get treatment and that would have a huge bearing on the recovery of the person."

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It was agreed that the council's representatives on the Regional Health Forum would put a query in relation to the issue forward at the next meeting.
Cllr Prior suggested they ask, "what is the waiting time for the ambulances for the south Leitrim area?"