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Brassil: Killarney needs more ambulances
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Fianna Fáil TD John Brassil has called on Minister for Health Simon Harris to ensure that the Killarney area is adequately serviced by locally based ambulances.
Deputy Brassil made the call following receipt of information from the HSE that shows that two out of every five ambulance call-outs in the Killarney area were serviced by ambulances from outside the catchment area.
“In 2016, there were 1357 requests for ambulance support in the Killarney area with a massive 573 of these requiring the support of ambulances not based in the area,” Brassil said.
“While of course there might be certain situations where an ambulance from a neighbouring area might be best served dealing with an emergency call, when just fewer than 40% of calls are being dealt with by external ambulances, there is a problem.
“It’s clear to me that there simply aren’t enough ambulances located in the Killarney area to service the growing needs of the town and surrounding communities.
"We shouldn’t be relying on ambulances from other areas to look after the needs of local people. Killarney is a big town, with a large hinterland.
“The HSE, the National Ambulance Service and the Minister need to commit to providing additional ambulance cover during the day and at night. There is at present just one ambulance covering the area locally. This is wholly inadequate,” concluded Brassil.