THE EFFECT of health cutbacks in Donegal has been
brought into sharp focus after a mother was forced
to drive her unconscious child and a paramedic to
Letterkenny Hospital. Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty
has expressed his shock at the incident which
happened last week.
"An ambulance was dispatched with one advanced
paramedic, who was driving the vehicle. At the
scene, the paramedic made the clinical decision,
based on the needs of the child, to travel back to
the hospital in the back of a car driven by the
mother of the young child," said Deputy Doherty.
“When I sought clarification from the HSE on this
matter, it was confirmed that the advanced paramedic
was indeed working on his own from 5pm to 8pm on the
evening in question.
“It was explained to me that this was due to staff
reporting sick and requesting force majeure leave at
short notice. I would ask why alternative
arrangements were not made to ensure that there were
at least two paramedics available to respond to any
emergencies."
The Donegal TD added: “It is completely unacceptable
that a mother be required to drive her child to
hospital in such circumstances, in a vehicle which
is not adapted to the needs of the situation, simply
because there is inadequate staff to drive the
ambulance.
“It is my understanding that the paramedic in
question requested that two paramedics who lived
nearby be contacted to assist at the scene but this
request was refused."
He added: This is the effects of budget cuts and
austerity on our public services. Sinn Féin has been
raising this very issue with the HSE for some time
now and we clearly see the impact in this case.
“The circumstances of this case could have been
tragic and as a parent of four young children
myself, the potential outcome doesn’t bear thinking
about." He called on the HSE to explain what
happened and to put guidelines in place to ensure
such an incident never occurred again. |
