Wexford, Cork and Kerry are the counties where ambulances reach with a delay even to attend emergency cases, a new report by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) shows. The report covers the first six months of 2021 and the service details of ambulances throughout the country.
Delays were most pronounced in Wexford, Cork, and Kerry, with well over a third of all the 60-minute plus response times recorded in just those three counties, the Journal reports.
A breakdown of the reasons given for excessive delays in ambulance response time reveals that in 249 cases, the very long distance involved was to blame.
There were also 34 cases where the ambulance got stood down because an even more pressing emergency had occurred.
Two cases of ambulances breaking down en route were reported while in another incident there was a “potential violent scene,” and the paramedics were waiting for garda support.
Other reasons given for lengthy delays in reaching patients included bad weather conditions, decontaminating an ambulance, and problems with accurate directions.
A target response time of 19 minutes is set for callouts considered life-threatening, including highest priority Echo calls, and second highest priority Delta calls.
In the National Ambulance Service’s West region in January, only 47% of Delta calls were reached within that target, and 57% of Echo calls.
For the Midland area, the Echo target was met 65% of the time in January, while Delta calls were dealt with on target in 44% of cases.
A statement from the National Ambulance Service (NAS) said response times had been hit by delays in offloading patients at A&Es and a shortage of qualified staff.