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05/03/2015
Union To Meet Over Ambulance Plans
IMPACT, the union representing 200 firefighter paramedics in Dublin Fire Brigade, is to meet today (5 March) to consider new ambulance measures.
The organisation will consider a response to new measures which will see the HSE's National Ambulance Service (NAS) take responsibility for all emergency calls in the Dublin region.
IMPACT has said that members would coordinate their response with Siptu members in Dublin Fire Brigade.
National secretary Peter Nolan said that proposed measures, which have been developed without consulting workers, would not address inefficiencies in the ambulance service identified in a recent HIQA report.
He added: "The Dublin ambulance service operates on less than 10% of the national service budget, yet responds to 40% of ambulance calls nationally. It operates to the highest standards, and has a proven track record of excellence. The city cannot afford to have that excellence undermined.
"These measures, which look very much like the early steps toward subsuming the Dublin Fire Brigade's ambulance service into the NAS, do not address the issue of average response times.
"We would raise the question of how response times might be affected if calls for the Dublin service are processed by the NAS. This introduces an additional step in the response process which could increase response times rather than reduce them."
He continued: "The delays in Dublin response times, identified by HIQA, relate only to non-critical calls. The response times to critical incidents are shorter, and reflect the level of excellence that Dublin citizens associate with the Dublin Fire Brigade.
"A substantial number of the calls referred to the NAS by the DFB each year involve inter-hospital transport. They are non-emergency and ensure that DFB's capacity to respond to critical incidents is maintained. This is the type of cooperation between the two services that helps to ensure better emergency response times."
(JP)
The organisation will consider a response to new measures which will see the HSE's National Ambulance Service (NAS) take responsibility for all emergency calls in the Dublin region.
IMPACT has said that members would coordinate their response with Siptu members in Dublin Fire Brigade.
National secretary Peter Nolan said that proposed measures, which have been developed without consulting workers, would not address inefficiencies in the ambulance service identified in a recent HIQA report.
He added: "The Dublin ambulance service operates on less than 10% of the national service budget, yet responds to 40% of ambulance calls nationally. It operates to the highest standards, and has a proven track record of excellence. The city cannot afford to have that excellence undermined.
"These measures, which look very much like the early steps toward subsuming the Dublin Fire Brigade's ambulance service into the NAS, do not address the issue of average response times.
"We would raise the question of how response times might be affected if calls for the Dublin service are processed by the NAS. This introduces an additional step in the response process which could increase response times rather than reduce them."
He continued: "The delays in Dublin response times, identified by HIQA, relate only to non-critical calls. The response times to critical incidents are shorter, and reflect the level of excellence that Dublin citizens associate with the Dublin Fire Brigade.
"A substantial number of the calls referred to the NAS by the DFB each year involve inter-hospital transport. They are non-emergency and ensure that DFB's capacity to respond to critical incidents is maintained. This is the type of cooperation between the two services that helps to ensure better emergency response times."
(JP)
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