Forging a greater collaboration between emergency services on both sides of the border could help deliver an more efficient ambulance service to people in rural areas of south Armagh, Sinn Féin councillor Barra Ó Muirí has claimed.
Pointing out how, at present, ambulances regularly attend incidents in both jurisdictions, he says the arrangement “could be formalized to the mutual benefit of all” to help prevent occasions where ambulance call-out times fall outside the recommended remit.
Councillor Ó Muirí raised the issue with the chief executive of the Ambulance Service, Mr Shane Devlin, at a recent special meeting of Newry Mourne and Down District Council, highlighting how the geographical location is putting people at further risk.
After hearing from Mr Devlin service how a Category 1 call should be attended within eight minutes, Councillor Ó Muirí questioned if this timescale is realistic for an ambulance to reach parts of Dorsey or Newtownhamilton in life or death situations. He drew attention to three recent occasions where it had taken an ambulance more than 45 minutes to reach a category 1 call in Newtownhamilton, Cregganduff and most recently in Crossmaglen and says that the time has come to look for alternatives to compliment, not to replace the ambulance service”.
Mr Ó Muirí referenced a pilot scheme in Lurgan where the Fire and Rescue Service are alerted to emergency calls about cardiac/respiratory arrest and chest pain, and he called for a similar scheme to be introduced on a trial basis in south Armagh.
He also called for “closer working relations” with ambulance services in Louth and Monaghan, stating how ambulances already regularly attend incidents in each other’s jurisdiction, an arrangement that could be formalised to the mutual benefit of all, he said.
By collaborating with the Fire and Rescue Service, and stronger North/ South links, the people of south Armagh could finally get the ambulance service that they deserve, he added.